#victoria grimes viii: war

[bamby0304]

Victoria Grimes VIII: War

Ch.11: It Happened...

Series Masterlist

Summary: Daryl and Victoria have worked through her mistakes made at the Sanctuary and have decided to keep the truth between themselves. But with the war between their communities and the Saviours brewing, their bond will be tested all over again. Lies, death and the threat of defeat are coming for Vickie… will she be strong enough to come through in one piece?

Warnings: Angst. Slight violence.

A/N: I'm giving two chapters because this one follows the show really closely... and I got a really nice review on AO3 that made me want to post :)

Bamby

RPOV

We buried Carl. In the empty lot beside our home. We buried Carl.

I’d never felt a pain like this before. Never felt this kind of loss. I’d almost lost myself after losing Lori… this felt worse.

Things wouldn’t stop, though. There was no time to grieve. No time to mourn. Not yet. Not when we’d declared war and the Saviours were out there. Carl had to wait… the rest of my family, my people, they could not.

“Hey.” Michonne came to rest a hand on my shoulder as I packed a bag full of as much food as I could. “We got to go.”

Nodding, understanding that our town, our home, was beginning to be overrun by the dead, I grabbed the bag and followed her outside and onto the street. We’d found a van that hadn’t been taken or destroyed, and packed it with as many supplies as we could. Throwing my bag in the back of it, I noticed Michonne staring at something in the distance.

It was a gazebo. A small little outdoor sitting area. One I’d seen Carl by many times before.

It was on fire.

She looked at me with tears in her eyes. “He used to sit on the roof.”

“We have to go,” I reminded her, hating that we really had to choose right now.

There was only slight hesitation before she ducked into the van, pulled out the fire extinguisher, and then ran to the gazebo.

Not wasting any time myself, knowing she was going to need help, I grabbed the other fire extinguisher and hurried after her. This was important to her, and therefore it was important to me. The hell we’d found ourselves did not mean we were going to lose everything. I wasn’t going to lose all of my son.

The fire extinguishers weren’t going to be enough to fight the flames, though. Before long, the fire grew, and walkers began to crowd us.

“Michonne!” I called out, warning her that one was getting far too close. “Michonne.”

Knowing we were fighting a losing battle, the two of us cut down the walkers in our way before making a break for it. Jumping into the van, we drove off, out the gates of Alexandria.

Our home. I’d wanted to start this fight with the Saviours to save what we’d had. I knew we were going to lose people and things on the way. I never imagined we’d lose as much as we had.

Carl had, though. He’d told me on the road after I shot in the air to scar Siddiq away at the gas station. He’d known things were only going to get worse.

“What do you think he meant?” I looked over at Michonne briefly before turning back to the road as I drove down it. Now that I was thinking about Carl I couldn’t stop. “Did he want us to stop fighting the Saviours? Just surrender to Negan?’

“We could pull over,” she suggested. “We could read what he wrote.”

I started shaking my head in response before she’d even finished. “No. Not yet. Not me.”

There was a pause as she looked at the letter in her lap before she froze. “Rick. He- Carl- he wrote a letter to Negan.”

My grip on the steering wheel tightened. I wasn’t sure what he might’ve written to Negan. I wasn’t sure if he was going to try and tell him the same thing he’d said to me. Maybe he wanted the Saviours to stop, too? No matter what he’d written, I wasn’t ready to read that, either.

“I need to talk to Jadis.”

“What?”

I nodded, seeing a new path form in my mind that could help us and our people. “They have weapons… people. We can't just give that up.”

“Why now?”

“They went with me to the Sanctuary. The Saviours saw us there. They're gonna be a target, too. We still need them. They're ours, not theirs.”

NPOV

“Hilltop is covered,” I assured Arat over the walkie.

I’d tasked her and a few others to find Rick’s people. There was no way I was letting them sneak away like they thought they had. We’d find them, and then there’d be hell to pay.

“The roads and then some. They are out there somewhere, so let's get balls deep in every nook and cranny they might hole up in.” The door opened as Simon stepped in. I lifted a hand to tell him to come in and stay quiet while I finished up on the walkie. “Nooks, crannies, and holes, people. All that shit outside the box.” Tossing the walkie onto the table, I turned to Simon as he paced at the other end. “Appears our friends at Alexandria had themselves an escape plan. Rick's little one-eyed pride and joy played me.” I scoffed, shaking my head, impressed. “Damn. That kid… that kid is built for this shit.”

He was something else. Both Grimes kids were. The way they fit in the world today was like nothing I’d ever seen. He was ruthless, smart, always thinking outside the box. She was just like him, but damaged. It gave them character. Made them useful. Made them lucky.

I knew when people were worth saving, and those two were it. Sure, I would still kill the people they loved to teach a lesson, but they had a get out of jail free card. I could use them, and I planned to do just that.

“Let me go out and close this thing,” he offered.

“Arat's got it for now.” He was tense, I could see it. Antsy. He wanted to be out there, doing something, but Simon was a loose cannon sometimes. I needed to keep him on a short leash. “How'd the Hilltop go?”

“As requested.”

“Good job.” I nodded. “With an extra attaboy on top given I know you didn't want to play it that way.”

Ignoring my comment, he went on, “You hear anything from Gavin?”

“Not yet. But it's coming. Gavin may be perpetually pissed off, but he keeps his shit dry and tight.”

He paced, hands on his hips. It was amusing seeing him so frustrated and agitated. “If I'm not running down Rick and company, where do you want me?”

Gesturing to the seat on my right, I waited for him to take a seat. “Garbage people.”

“Good. Eliminating those who reneged might leave us a tad short on ammo, but it's worth it.”

My jaw ticked as I clenched it, pissed that he still didn’t get the big picture. “I need you to hear me on this, Simon. Those piss-stained double-crossers may have pulled a triple-cross, but it doesn't change the fact that they are still a resource. So you're gonna choke back whatever shit is stirring up inside you and remind them that a deal with the Saviours is a lock, stock, suck my barrel deal. Deliver the standard message, take one out, and the rest will fall in line.” I gave him a pointed look. “Just one, Simon.”

He did not like the plan, and I’d expected just that. He was bloodthirsty. Always had been, and I had come to the realisation that he always would be. That didn’t mean I couldn’t trust him, it just meant I had to be very clear.

“If you've got something to say, say it,” I told him, giving him the metaphorical mic.

“Maybe we should cut our losses here,” he suggested tightly. “These people can't learn the lesson, no matter how many times we teach it. Alexandria, Hilltop, Kingdom, these garbage rats they're not seeming to understand the situation. Not one little bit. So maybe we learn our lesson. Scrape the plates into the trash. Move further out. Find other communities to… save.”

Again, I clenched my jaw as I watched him carefully. “Oh, I am doing my best to hold it together right now. You wanna cut your losses, take your own advice. Killing everybody to solve the problem that is the easy way, not our way. What we do, saving people, it is hard. But it damn well works.”

“Not lately,” he argued.

“Once I clip Rick,” I grinned, “everything's aces again, Simon.”

I believed in the plan, and I knew most of my people did, too. Rick was leading the war on me and the Saviours. He was the one taking charge, making decisions, calling out orders. Killing him would show the others that there was no hope, no reason, no winning. Killing Rick would show them that we were untouchable.

A knock on the door pulled our attention to it.

“Yeah?” I called.

Gary walked in, carrying a nail gun as he waited for two more men. They were carrying a large box, and by the sounds of it… there was a walker inside.

Simon and I stood as they placed the box on the table and then stepped back.

Eyeing the box, I stepped up to Gary. “What the hell is that?”

“A delivery from the Hilltop,” he explained. “I brought you something to deal with it.” He handed the nail gun over. “It's charged.”

“Out,” I ordered.

Once the door was closed Simon stepped up to the other end, a knife now in hand, before he began to pry the lid off the box.

“Little bit more.”

Doing as I said, he lifted the lid a bit more. The walker reached out and grabbed for me, but I simply pressed the nail gun to its head and pulled the trigger.

Simon got a good look at the walker then, and he was pissed. “That's Dean. That means the other ‘38’ that the Hilltop are holding are from the Satellite Outpost. Those are my people. I'm gonna kill every last one of those farmers!”

I tried to remain calm as I reminded him, “You will do exactly what I asked.”

“We can't let 'em get away with this shit.”

Having had enough of his bullshit, I snapped, “You will do your job!”

With a tight nod, he stormed out of the room. I had no doubt, despite how much he clearly hated the plan, he would do as he was told.

DPOV

We were hiding under a bridge, all of Alexandria hiding in the bushes and long grass. I’d taken the lead, knowing the rest of us who could do the job on a normal day weren’t up for it now.

Saviours were above us, listening to a message being sent on their walkies. They’d been up there for a while, unknowingly keeping us from continuing on our trek to Hilltop.

“Patrols, we got an Orange Situation. Dr. Carson and the priest. Might've split overnight, maybe this morning. Jeremy's green sedan is MIA, so could be in that. Go for standard search and cover in our perimeter around Hilltop. Eyeballs open.”

“Patrol Four copies,” one of the Saviours above responded to the message.

“C'mon, let's hurry it up,” another called to their group before the sound of them pilling into the car was followed by the sound of them driving off.

Once I was sure the coast was clear, I gestured for the others to come out of hiding.

“Best to stay off the roads, head into the woods right there,” I told them. “Come on. Go. Go.”

They all followed my orders, keeping low and sticking to bushes as they did so. The large group slipped into the tree line without a word.

Not even Vic made a sound.

She wasn’t speaking. She wasn’t even looking at anyone, or anything really. I could imagine the pain she was in. I’d lost my brother. I’d lost Merle. But Carl was different.

Carl had been a good man. He had been a good son and brother. He’d been a rock for Vic their whole lives. Those two… there was a bond between them that I hadn’t understood in the beginning, had then grown to envy, and then had become grateful for it. I’d always known that if I couldn’t be there for her, Carl would always be by his sister’s side.

Vic had been through so much already. She’d lost so much. Her home, her friends, her safety, ever herself sometimes. She’d lost her mum, and she’d lost this family she’d built several times over the years. Losing her brother was going to hurt her like nothing else had. It could break her, and that scared me.

“Daddy.” Aly came over to grab my hand, pulling my attention from her mother as we walked at the back of the group, watching everyone as we made our way through the woods. “Are Pop and Michonne going to meet us at Hilltop?”

When things got bad, Aly tended to refer to loved ones as their title rather than their names. Hearing her call Rick Pop made it clear that she was scared and hurting, which broke my heart.

I couldn’t show it, though. I had to be strong for her.

“They’re just gonna be a little behind us.” I nodded at her. “They’re just gonna make sure Carl is-” I didn’t know how to finish the sentence. I didn’t know how to tell her what they were going to do without making it sound terrible.

“They’re gonna make sure he’s not hurting anymore,” she finished for me.

Looking back down at her, I met her gaze and had the wind knocked out of my lungs. She looked so mature and grownup. She understood what needed to be done, and she understood that I couldn’t say the words to her.

I nodded. “Yeah. They’re gonna make sure he ain’t hurtin’.”

The sound of a walker had our group scurrying away as it came out from some bushes. The children gathered behind adults, keeping safe. Others lifted the few weapons we had to defend themselves and those who couldn’t fight.

“I got it.” Tara stepped forward, pulling her knife out as she moved to deal with it.

“I'll cover you,” Dwight offered.

Instead of killing the walker, though, Tara threw it at Dwight.

“Tara!” Rosita yelled.

She shrugged. “What? It got away. He can handle it.” She watched as Dwight struggled to throw the walker to the ground before he stomped on its head, killing it. “See?”

“Hey. Just keep 'em moving,” I told all of them, gesturing forward.

Once again, they all listened as they continued walking.

Rosita turned to me once the others- including Aly- were far enough away that they couldn’t hear us. “Did you hear them talking on the walkie about Carson and Gabriel?”

“Yeah.” I nodded. “Probably heading to Hilltop, same as us.”

“Hopefully better than us,” she sighed.

The two of us started for the others then, making sure to catch up quickly. I couldn’t trust Tara wasn’t going to put her need for revenge before the needs of the others. No one else in the group could protect them, not in the state they were in. Not even Vickie.

Rosita and I needed to stay close if we were all going to make it to Hilltop together and in one piece.

RPOV

Michonne and I had walked through the unmanned doors to the place Jadis and her people call home. Honestly it was a dump, but it was theirs and they had it the way they wanted. There was no point in commenting, not when we had so much at risk, and they could be what helps us win this war.

Unfortunately, that assumption seemed to be wrong.

As we walked into the main, first, open area, junk from above the sea container that served as the entrance collapsed. The way out was blocked.

It was a trap.

The sound attracted dozens of walkers as they appeared to come from every way.

“Dammit.” I moved to get back-to-back with Michonne as we tried to find somewhere safe.

“Come on!” Grabbing my arm, she pulled me over to a mountain of garbage.

We fought our way through the crowd of walkers, pushing and killing anything that got in our way. When we reached the mountain, we started to climb, pulling things out of our way, and towards the walkers, so we could climb further, and they couldn’t follow.

As we made it to the top of the mountain, we looked down at the scrambling walkers. It was then that I realised they were all of the garbage people. There wasn’t a single stray walker down there. This wasn’t an accident. They’d been killed.

“Rick.”

Michonne and I turned and found Jadis sitting on the top of the mountain, stripped of her usual clothes and left in a dirty, flimsy, white night dress. Her feet were bare, her skin was dirty and sweaty. She looked nothing like the usual put together person we’d come to know as the look of her and her people. She looked a mess, frantic, and desperate.

“What happened here?” Michonne asked.

“The Saviours.”

It was pay back. I didn’t need to be told that to know what it was. They’d seen her and her people with me. They’d shot at us. Breaking a deal with the Saviours is a death sentence unless you’re prepared to fight. They were clearly unprepared.

Michonne didn’t make a comment or ask anymore questions about what had happened. There was only one thing that mattered now. “Well, how do we get out?”

The answer was simple. “Get out how you got in.”

We were going to have to fight through the walkers and dig through the junk in order to get out of here.

“These weren't heaps before,” Jadis went on. “It was just trash laid out, as far as the eye could see. I used to come here to find things to paint on. Metal sheets. Fabrics. And then after everything changed, I realised this whole place was a canvas. That we were the paint. We could create something new. We could become something new. We did. This was our world. Apart from everyone else. In every way.”

All her words meant nothing to me. She had double crossed us, caused the death of people, shot me, locked me up, screwed us over, and over, and over. If they had kept their word in the first place, then none of this would have happened. Our people would be safe and alive, and so would hers.

“You did this. This is because of you.” Turning my back on her, I grabbed a broken car door from the pile of crap.

Michonne watched as I bent the exterior detailing, so it stuck out. “What are you doing?”

“We're gonna run for it,” I explained, holding the door in front of me so that the bent handle could be used against the walkers.

Jadis stood, grabbing a broken chair to hold in front of herself. “Let me come with you. Just until they're gone.”

I didn’t even have to think about it. “Nah. I'm done with her games. She can't help us, anyway.” Turning my back on Jadis, I looked over at Michonne. “Come on.”

We started our decent then, heading down to the walkers as they continued to try and grab at us, and climb the mountain of trash. Using the door, I pushed back the walkers in front of us, while Michonne had her sword out, killing anything that reached for us from behind.

Getting closer to the exit, I held the door with one hand and pulled out my gun with the other to shoot a few of the walkers getting closer.

Michonne used her sword, covering the back of us as I cleared a path. Once we were close enough to the exit, I dropped the car door and started pulling things out of our way. Michonne was still behind, taking my hand once I offered it to help her into the shipping container that used to be the way into this community.

But the community was gone now. Now it was just a pile or rubbish and rubble, like it was intended to be.

“Wait!”

Just as I was about to leave, Jadis called out. I stopped and turned. She was no longer on the mountain of trash, now. She stood on the dirt, holding the broken chair she’d grabbed.

“Wait! Please!” she begged. “Just- just let me get out!”

I lifted my gun and aimed it at her, before directing it to the sky and taking a shot. The walkers descended on her then.

Whether she survived or not I didn’t know, and I didn’t care.

If she had kept her word in the first place, then none of this would have happened. Our people would be safe and alive. Carl would be safe and alive.

Bamby

[bamby0304]

Victoria Grimes VIII: War

Ch.12: Into Pieces

Series Masterlist

Summary: Daryl and Victoria have worked through her mistakes made at the Sanctuary and have decided to keep the truth between themselves. But with the war between their communities and the Saviours brewing, their bond will be tested all over again. Lies, death and the threat of defeat are coming for Vickie… will she be strong enough to come through in one piece?

A/N: It's my birthday!!

Warnings: Angst. Explicit language.

Bamby

DPOV

I’d walked ahead, knowing Rosita would cover the back. We needed to make sure the coast was clear. Clear of walkers. Clear of Saviours. Clear of anything. There was so much that could go wrong out here.

Taking the lead was also just an excuse. It meant I could think without having to focus on the others too much.

Losing Carl was going to break a lot of our people. Especially after last night and how he’d sacrificed himself for us. How he’d put himself in the line of fire to distract Negan so we could all get to safety and create a diversion.

I felt like I was partly responsible. Not for his death, but for not doing more to make sure he was safe.

Maybe if I hadn’t gone off then Vickie could have been more aware of her brother than looking for me. She was always trying to make sure he was keeping out of trouble, but with me disappearing I could only imagine how worried she’d been. If I’d stayed, then maybe I would’ve noticed him going off. Maybe he could’ve talked to us, let us know about Saddiq. Maybe we could’ve been there to help fight the walkers.

There were so many maybes running through my head, I could barely focus on what was happening around me.

“Hey. Daryl.” Rosita grabbed my arm, pulling me to a stop.

I turned around, noticing that the others were nowhere to be seen. Except for Dwight and Tara. She was a few feet from Rosita, watching expectantly. While Dwight stood off to the side, watching and waiting, holding his injured arm.

Frowning, I looked back down at Rosita. “Where are they?”

She gestured over her shoulder. “They needed rest. They're exhausted. They haven't slept.”

I could understand that. I might be full of energy from my head spinning, but the others weren’t used to being out here like this. Not like me. Even if they were used to being out here, it had been a big night and an even bigger lose, they needed a moment to recover.

“All right, 10 minutes.” I nodded. “Then we keep goin'. I'm gonna go back, cover our tracks.” Walking past her, I started back down the way we’d come.

“I'll go with you,” she offered, right behind me.

Before we got far, Tara spoke up, stopping us in our tracks.

“I have a question.” We turned to her before she gestured to Dwight. “Is there a reason why he's still breathing?”

“Fight ain't over.”

“It is for him,” she argued with me. “I'm done waiting.”

Looking over at Dwight, I knew it would be easy to deal with him here and now. But I also knew that he’d been valuable so far, and with everything a mess right now he could still be useful.

“Not now.” I shook my head. “Not yet.”

Rosita nodded. “He's right. Dwight could have an angle we don't know about. He could help. He wants to. Can't give that up yet. We just lost the kid. Let's just stop. At least until we get to the Hilltop.”

The look on Tara’s face made it clear that she didn’t agree, and that she wanted to take action now. I understood it, but I also knew that it wasn’t time. There was too much at stake to give up any tool we could use right now.

RPOV

“I shot above her head,” I assured Michonne as I drove down the road, heading away from the junk yard. “I just wanted her gone.” I glanced over at her, fidgeting my fingers on the steering wheel before I went on, “Look, I saw her. She made it. She ran into an empty alley just before I left.”

She did run in the direction of the ally, however I didn’t know if she had made it safely. There was no way to really know if she was going to make it.

“I didn't want her dead,” I added. “I just wanted her gone.”

“Feels like what Carl was talking about,” Michonne started. “What we should do when we have a choice.”

Her words stung. I didn’t want to think about what Carl had said, because to be honest… what he wanted from me was going to be hard. Especially now, with everything that we had going on. It meant going against every instinct in me.

But maybe he was right… and even if he wasn’t… I should still remember to honour him.

Pulling the car over, I found it hard to look her in the eyes. “Uh… um I need a se- I need a second.”

She put a reassuring hand on my knee. “It's fine.”

Nodding, I grabbed the letters from the glovebox and exited the car.

I walked over into the field I’d parked next to and began to flick through the letters. Crouching on the ground, I found Negan’s and opened it. The breath I took as my thoughts whirled was deep and shook, but I knew what had to be done.

Pulling the walkie from my belt, I spoke into it, “Get me Negan.”

“Who the hell is asking?”

I stood as I tried to control the rage that was burning inside me. “It's Rick Grimes.”

NPOV

With Lucille resting on my shoulder, I watched as Simon and the others drove back. They parked a few feet away from the entrance and got out as I began walking down the steps to meet them down there.

“Got it done?” I asked Simon as I approached him.

He nodded. “That and then some.” There was a pause as he noticed something was up. “You good?”

“Nothing on Gavin.”

There’d been nothing from anyone we’d sent to the Kingdom. It was radio silent, and it did not sit right with me. Rick and his people had shown they were capable of some crazy crap before, I was beginning to wonder if they’d pull off some miracle and managed to outsmart or out fight the people I’d sent their way.

“Want me to turn back around? Roll out?” Simon offered. “End the mystery?”

“I already sent a team out there.”

“Ah. Well, I'm sure he's A-okay,” he reassured me. “And if not, we'll just send another message.”

Ignoring him, I got back to him and his job. “So, tell me how it went.”

“Standard message and delivery. Showed 'em and told 'em. There was remorse.”

“Negan.”

I turned and watched as one of my other men, DJ, headed over to us with a walkie in hand. “Yeah. What is it?”

He handed the walkie over. “It's Rick.”

Now this was a surprise.

Taking the walkie from his grasp, I grinned as I started to speak. “Ricky. Look at you, callin' me up. You wanna tell me where you are so we can do this face-to-face?”

“Carl's dead.”

Everything in me froze. I grew cold as a pain began to knot in my throat.

Carl… I meant every word when I said he was a good kid. Everything I’ve ever said about him. He was one of a kind… he was supposed to outlast even the best of us. The was the best of us.

“He wrote letters. He wrote one to you,” Rick added. I took a seat on one of our concrete blockades as I listened. “He asked you to stop. He asked me to stop. He asked us for peace.” The tone of his voice turned venomous. “But it's too late for that. Even if we wanted a deal now, it doesn't matter. I'm gonna kill you.”

His threat fell on deaf ears. I didn’t care about the war, our hatred, or any vendetta right now. I cared about Carl.

“How did it happen?”

“What?”

“How did he die?” I asked. “Was it us? Was it the grenades? The fire?”

I knew that this fight, this war, was going to end in death and pain for a lot of people, but there were some I didn’t want to get caught in the crossfire. To think Carl could’ve died because of me. Because of my men.

Then there was Victoria.

Fuck. I looked up at the sky and felt the knot in my throat tighten, threatening to choke me. She didn’t deserve this. She’d already been through so much, and I’d promised no one was going to hurt her again. If I was the reason her brother was dead, I’d never forgive myself.

“It wasn't you,” he spat. “Carl went out to help someone. And he got bit.”

“God damn it.” I shook my head. “Shit. I, um… I am sorry. You know, I wanted him to be part of things. I had plans. He… that kid… that kid was the future.”

“The only future is one where you're dead.”

What the fuck? I could not believe what I was hearing. “What the hell are you doing, Rick? Why are you fighting? Why are you making this so hard?” I pushed off the blockade as I began to pace. “Carl is dead because of you. Because you couldn't leave shit well enough alone. I mean, hell, maybe he woulda died some other way. Any one of us can get our ticket punched at any second. But in this case? In this case he is dead because of you.” I wanted to make sure I was making myself very clear. “Because you weren't there to stop him from doing something stupid. You set this course, Rick. Who's next? Victoria? You gonna get her killed, too?” It was my turn to spit my words.

To think he had no regard for his children’s lives. He’s already gotten one killed.

If he kept following this path and it led to her death, I’d burn Alexandria, the Hilltop, and the Kingdom to the ground. I’d smother the ashes with my boots, and I’d crush the skulls of everyone on Rick’s side with Lucille.

“You keep my daughter’s name out of your mouth,” he growled. “Nothing’s gonna happen to her. The next person to die, I’m gonna make sure that person is you.”

“No. It’s not gonna be me, and it sure as shit isn’t gonna be Victoria. But it’s gonna be someone.” It was taking everything in me to keep my cool as I continued, “You see, I stop people from dying. I am the answer. Now, it may have taken a hard lesson for you to hear it, but you should hear it now. It's time. Do not let any more of your shit decisions cost you to lose anyone else you love. That garbage that sticks with you. Forever. Just like Carl will. Hell, I'm feeling it. And I'm gonna be feeling it for a while.”

I meant it. I meant every word. That kid was something else, something special. The Grimes kids were the kinds of people that shouldn’t just survive this world, but thrive in it. Those kids had already been through hell and back, and it had made them warriors.

Carl was supposed to do amazing things with his life. He was young, brave, resilient. He was going to build the future, and I’d been looking forward to watching him do it.

Taking a breath, I went on, “You could have just let me save all of you. I mean, that's why I killed your friends in the first place. So, you can sit there and you can say that you're gonna kill me, but you won't. You failed. You failed as a leader, and most of all, Rick, you failed as a father. Just give up. Give up, because you have already lost.”

VPOV

I had never felt anything like this before. I’d never felt both in pain and numb at the same time. My body ached with every step I took, my muscles begging me to curl up. To retreat from the world, and curl into the fetal position. My mind was screaming, both in need of water and in need of rest. It was begging me to make sense of what had happened. My lungs were clenching, refusing to take in air without a burning pain. They were tired of the strain caused by me being on the move, and they were tired of the shaking from my restrained and dying tears.

The tears had left tracks on my cheeks. I could feel them. I could imagine that they were clear against the coat of dirt on my skin. My mind struggled to shape the image, but it managed to come up with a picture of my cheeks and the tracks from my tears… and our group walking along the path. We’d made our own track in these woods, trying to find the safest way to the Hilltop.

As we’d walked through the woods, I had realised I had no idea where we were, or what we were doing. I wasn’t even sure who was with us. Who had made it out of Alexandria in one piece.

I hadn’t.

Losing Carl was like losing a slice of myself. Carl had been a source of strength and hope for me since the day he’d been born. The downfall of the world had just strengthened that bond more than I thought imaginable.

When I’d lost my family in the beginning, finding them again had been a Godsend. Spending that night curled up next to Carl in the tent, knowing I was safe, and he was safe… it was a relief I’d never felt before. I’d never thought I would feel anything close to that again.

After we’d lost Sophia and we’d been shot in our efforts to try and find her, I’d thought I would lose him then. My own injury had meant nothing in comparison to his safety and health. He was what mattered, nothing else. When he survived, I was relieved beyond belief.

Being separated from my family after the farm had fallen, I’d lost not only my loved ones but part of myself on the way. Months I’d spent losing memories, but the names of those who’d shaped who I was had always remained. Carl had been the one to pull me back, to remind me of myself.

So many times, I’d lost my brother, or almost lost my life. The fall of the prison, Grady Memorial Hospital, the warehouse where we lost Noah, when the Wolves attacked our home, meeting Negan, taking Daryl’s place at the Sanctuary. So many times we’d been broken, and yet each time we found each other.

Carl understood me like no one else. He understood the little girl in me that Daryl never could. He understood the woman in me that Mum never could. He understood the sister in me that Judith never would. He understood the child in me that Dad never could. Every ounce of who I was, before and now, was easily read by Carl… I would never have that relationship with anyone else.

“You ready to keep going?”

I looked up at Tobin as he looked down at me, my sister in his arms, Aly by his side, and Houdini on the other.

Our group had stopped to rest for the first time since we’d escaped the fires and chaos of Alexandria. Looking around now, I realised the others were all gathering themselves and their things to get ready and continue our journey.

With no words to speak, I lifted myself off the ground, forcing my body to work through the numb and the pain. As I started to put one foot in front of the other I made all thought of my loss push to the back of my mind until it was an endless echo.

The time for mourning would come, for now, it was time to keep going. To push forward. At this point… that was like going on autopilot. Pain was second nature to me. Easier than breathing.

NPOV

Sitting in the dim light the meeting room, I had my back to Eugene as he stood at the other end of the table. The sun was setting outside, leaving the room with a lighting that I knew would set the man on edge.

“I'm disappointed, Eugene,” I started. “This crap was supposed to be behind us. Two flushes and out the pipe. Top it all off, my only doctor and that creepy-ass priest somehow managed to jump ship without anybody knowing about it.” I took a breath and turned to face him. “You have any idea how something like that could happen, Eugene?”

He was practically shitting his pants. “No, I would not venture to guess.”

I wanted to believe him. Even though he was shitting himself, I wanted to believe him. The guy was scared of everything, but especially me. That would explain why he was shaking like a damn vibrator. But it also made me believe that he wouldn’t be so stupid and do something like letting two people escape.

Sucking my teeth, I decided I would trust him.

“Carson was never one of us. He was a weasel, just like his weasel brother. That's my best stab at it.”

“Drawing together associations and behaviours… that's a solid stab,” he agreed.

Eugene had been there when I’d dealt with the other Carson. He knew enough of the backstory to understand my distate for the brothers.

“Well, once their asses are caught and dragged back here. And they will be I'm gonna get the whole story out of 'em. One way or another, yes, I will.”

I was going to trust him… but I wasn’t fool enough to not double check his admission. If he truly wasn’t to blame here, then I would find out eventually.

“And Alexandria?” he asked. “What went down there?”

“Do you care?” I leaned forward in my chair, resting my arms on the table as I clasped my hands together. “Do you care, Eugene, after they tried to blow you off the face of this Earth?”

He hesitated, thinking his words over carefully before giving a short nod. “Your message is stamped ‘received’ and very much appreciated.”

“Oh, well, good.” I grinned. “You see, I got some news for you, Eugene. You are gonna be in charge of your very own outpost. You see, I need my bullet maker making bullets. Cutting a path through the dead took a toll on our reserves. So now you get the honours of providing me with the necessary bang-bang I'm gonna need to settle this whole situation with Rick for good.”

“And all that about people being resources and whatnot?”

Was he questioning me?

“Bullets are the last resort. I mean, hell, Lucille here.” I lifted her off the table and took a good look at the length of her. “She gets first dibs. But if Rick and his merry band of pricks decide to pull some shit, then we're gonna have to pull some right back that we'd rather not. That'll be on them. Not you. Not me. I'm gonna set you up at that machine shop that you told me about. You're gonna have a full security detail at your disposal. Everything that you need to keep your head in the game.” I leaned back in my chair. “Got Frankie there giving you massages. Tanya cooking. You know that gal was a chef?”

“I pictured her in social sciences. Management. Maybe running a drapes factory,” he mumbled. There was no keeping track of his mind’s coming and goings. But it was entertaining to listen to him… sometimes. “Will there be wine?”

My grin grew. “There will, indeed.”

Bamby

[bamby0304]

Victoria Grimes VIII: War

Ch.10: Up in Flames

Series Masterlist

Summary: Daryl and Victoria have worked through her mistakes made at the Sanctuary and have decided to keep the truth between themselves. But with the war between their communities and the Saviours brewing, their bond will be tested all over again. Lies, death and the threat of defeat are coming for Vickie… will she be strong enough to come through in one piece?

Warnings: Angst. Violence. Death.

Bamby

NPOV

I jumped out of the truck and took in the sight of Alexandria as it burnt to the ground. My people had been making quick work, blowing up every thing and every building I had ordered them to. Anyone they found was to be brought to me, however I got the feeling they weren’t going to find anyone. Not after the convoy had left.

“Well, shit. We coulda used those. Solar panels.” I shook my head with a sigh as they burned away. “That convoy, they got away, huh? All of 'em? Kid's still gotta be here. I think he wanted to go down with the ship.”

The way he’d been talking… I wasn’t wrong when I said he wasn’t lying. The kid was ready to die. Didn’t want to, not saying that, but he sure as shit was as ready as I’ve ever seen.

“Search the place,” I ordered. “Find him, tie him up. Don't kill him. Blow up every other house. I'm gonna go to Rick's, make a little spaghetti. When he shows up, send him my way.” Swinging Lucille onto my shoulder, I headed up the road, whistling a tune.

MPOV

I slammed the car door as it came to a stop at the Hilltop and stormed towards the prisoners. I’d barely slowed down before Gregory hurried to the fence as I stopped.

“Margaret, I- I understand you putting me in here. Message received, but - you know I don't belong in here.”

“Shut up.” I scanned the group of people we’d gathered inside. The Saviours.

“What happened out there?” Kal asked from behind me.

Instead of answering I pointed to one of the Saviours. “That one. Get him out.”

Gregory was in disbelief. “He gets out?”

“Maggie, what are you doing?”

I didn’t respond to Jesus as I watched as two of our people walked in and gathered the man I’d chosen. I remembered him. Tara had told me about him.

“Kal, I need your gun.” Once it was in my hand the Saviour stood in front of me. I glanced at Jesus. “This one tried to kill you.”

“Maggie, you don't wanna do this.” It was the Saviour who had thanked me for sparing them. He seemed to be the only one with his head screwed on, but that wasn’t going to save them.

“Shut up, Al!” the one in front of me snapped. “If Cupcake wants to put on a show, let her put on a show.”

Without warning, I lifted Kal’s gun, aimed, and fired. The Saviour in front of me was now dead on the ground.

My eyes landed on the one they called Al. “You wanna be next?”

He stepped back, shaking his head. “No, I don't.”

Lowering the gun, I turned to my people. “Saviours killed one of our own tonight on the road. We aren't even, but that was a start.

“Maggie-”

I cut Jesus off, “Get more guards on duty. Start fortifying the walls and bury Neil. First light, everybody else starts tending crops.”

“I thought we don't give up.”

“No, we don't. Simon said the others are under attack, which means there's no more supplies going in, but there might be people. We have to be ready. Gonna be up to Hilltop to make the last stand.”

…

After everyone was caught up on the plan and what had happened, I organised what to do with the body of the Saviour I’d killed.

It was put in the box. The one that had been meant for me, and then Neil. I’d lied though. He was never going to be buried in it. No, I’d always planned to use it to send a message.

Pulling back from the box, I looked down at the message I’d left on the nailed down lid.]

          We have 38 more. Stand down.

“Leave it where they'll find it,” I told Eduardo and Kal, trusting they’d know what to do, before I headed back inside. There was a lot more work to do… it was going to be a long night.

DPOV

Alexandria was on flames. Explosions were still going off as the Saviours destroyed the place we called home. I barely gave it a second glance, though. Vic was right, it was just a place and that meant it was replaceable. Right now I just needed to know our family was safe. Our people. Especially the kids.

Sliding open the manhole outside the gates, I grabbed a rock and dropped it into the sewers before pausing, listening for any walkers. Looking up, I shook my head as Vic.

“Okay,” she turned to Tara, “go.”

One by one, we all headed down into the underground tunnels. Tara first, then Rosita. Dwight apologised to Michonne as she stared wide eyed at our community and the flames.

“Go,” I grunted, grabbing Dwight and pushing him towards the manhole.

He did as he was told, heading down to join the others and find our people amongst the maze under our town.

Once Dwight was out of the way I started down the ladder after him, watching as Vic got ready to then follow me. She was just a few steps above when she suddenly paused.

“Michonne? What are you-”

The sound of the manhole closing cut her off.

“No!” She slammed her hand on the heavy cast-iron lid, but it didn’t budge as something heavy was dragged on top of it. “No! Michonne!” Panicked, on the verge of tears, she looked down at me. “She’s gone.”

RPOV

Our walls were down. Alexandria was on flames. I hadn’t seen a single soul. Things had gone bad, and no I had no idea where my people were. When my family was. My kids.

“Carl,” I whispered into the dark as I crept into our home from the back. “Judith. Alyssa.” There was no answer. “Victoria. Michonne.”

As I rounded the corner my gun was knocked out of my hands before I was kicked to the ground.

Negan stood over me. “This shit isn't funny anymore.” Stepping forward, he kicked at me again. I groaned at the pain, crawling back. “Don't make me do this now, Rick.” Leaning over me, he pulled my weapons out from my belt and threw them across the room. “I got plans for you. Cut you up in little bitty pieces, feed you to the dead, and make you watch.”

He pulled Lucille back, getting ready to swing. Moving quickly, I rolled out of the way before she came down on the ground where I’d been seconds before.

“Then, when you're some sort of screwed-up, creepy stump with a head,” he continued as I got to my feet, “that's when I'm gonna kill you.”

I didn’t get as much warning this time before he swung Lucille out again. She hit my stomach, knocking the wind out of me as I crumbled back down to the ground.

“In front of everybody.” He grinned down at me.

“You ever shut the hell up?” I groaned, using the dining table to pull myself to my feet.

“Nope!” He laughed, bringing the butt of his bat down on me. “You know your kid volunteered to die? What kind of boy you raise, Rick? I'm gonna fix him. 'Cause I like him. A few years, he's gonna be one of my top guys!”

He went to swing her again but I moved first, punching him the face first. He lowered Lucille, giving me a moment to get in a few more hits before he started to fight back. We were closely matched on a good day, but I was injured. Even still, I wasn’t going down easy.

Pulling back he pushed me away and into shelves that fell under the force of the shove, sending me to the ground with them.

Scoffing, he stepped forward. “When I am done with you, nobody will ever try to do what you did. Not ever again! Not your friends, not your son-”

Not shutting up was his downfall.

While he’d been going on and on with his speech, I’d been feeling around for a weapon. That how I managed to find and grab a paperweight. Getting a good grip on it, I swung around and hit him square in the jaw. He fell with a heavy thud, giving me time to get the upper hand.

Snatching Lucille from the ground, I leaned over him and used the butt of the bat and hit him over and over like he’d hit me.

“Don't you touch her!” he yelled before kicking out and pushing me away.

As I tried to regain my balance, he managed to get himself to his feet. I didn’t have a chance before he charged forward, sending us straight out the window.

This time I recovered first, and this time I didn’t fight. I ran. I needed to find my family.

…

Running between houses, trying to stay unnoticed, I kept any eye out for anyone who might be alive. At the same time I kept pressure on my ribs, trying not to think about how they might be broken again. Negan had done a number on me but I couldn’t let that stop me.

The sound of a commotion and a woman grunting had me turning a corner. It was Michonne, standing over a Saviour she no doubt took down.

“Michonne!” I ran to her, grabbing her arm. She jumped, ready to attack until she realised it was me.

Tears ran down her cheeks as I brought my hand up to cup her face. She looked broken and lost. I just hoped that wasn’t because we’d lost everyone. We couldn’t be the last ones left.

“Where are they?”

“Oh God.” She took a moment to catch her breath before grabbing my hand and leading me away.

…

We found our people. I let out a sigh of relief, seeing them huddled in the tunnels of our underground sewers. They were safe.

At least that’s what I first thought.

Looking down the tunnel, I could feel something was wrong. At the end I could see Daryl, holding Vickie to his chest as she buried her face against him. Somehow, they’d managed to get Houdini down here and now he was laying at the feet of Tara who held Judith in her arms while Aly held onto her leg, softly sobbing.

The explosions continued above us as I walked through the crowd, heading to the end of the tunnel. That’s where I found Carl.

He was sitting on the ground, leaning against the wall, pale as a ghost. Beside him knelt the guy I’d scared off before. It appeared as if he was taking care of Carl.

“I brought him here,” Carl started, drawing my attention back to him. “That's how it happened.” He pulled away the bandage on his side.

My throat tightened as I took in the wound. The bite mark.

I fell to my knees. “I-I don't-”

“Dad.”

“How-”

“Dad,” he cut me off, “it's all right. It's gotta be. I wasn't sure if you'd make it back before… but just in case, you know I wanted to make sure I was able to say goodbye.” He pulled some letters out from his pocket.

The explosions above us had me look up. My mind was reeling too much for me to really think, but all I knew was that I wanted to place the blame on something. On someone.

“It's them. It's them. They- they don't- it wasn't-”

“Carl.” Michonne was crying as she came to kneel on his other side.

Sobs had me looking up as I watched Vickie clinging to Daryl as he held. Her whole body shook as she fought to stay silent, not wanting to catch the attention of our enemies above.

Everything was wrong.

“No.” I shook my head. “No.”

Carl sighed, “I got bit. I was bringing someone back.” My attention turned to the newcomer, causing Carl to go on. “His name's Siddiq. We saw him at that gas station, before.” In shock, I looked back to my son. “It wasn't the Saviours. It just happened. I got bit.”

VPOV

The tears wouldn’t stop. I was quiet now as I stood with my husband, who was now holding our daughter. She was crying against him, understanding things without really knowing what was going on. She understood we were in danger, we were hiding, the bad people were destroying our homes and looking for us. She understood that Carl had been bitten.

I’d felt pain before. I’d felt a world of pain and more. Physical, mental, emotional, I’d felt so much… too much. But none of it felt like this.

Carl had been bitten. Carl was going to die, and then he was going to turn.

Michonne helped him on to the foldable bed he’d brought down for Siddiq, the guy he’d helped. “Is that better?” she asked.

Out of breath, Carl nodded as best as he could. “Yeah. Thanks.”

Siddiq stepped forward then, offering some medication. “I, um, I got these. They're over-the-counter, non-steroidal anti-inflammatories. They'll, um… they'll help a little with the fever. They did for my mum and dad. Please take them. Your son… he should have them.”

Dad stared at the pills. “You're a doctor?”

“I was a resident before. Yeah.”

“Your name is Siddiq?”

“Yes.”

Dad turned back to Carl. “Did you know he was a doctor? Is that why you brought him back?”

My heart broke even more. He was doing everything he could to rationalise why Carl would have put himself in danger. Why he would have snuck out to help someone who could have put everyone else at risk. Dad needed things to make sense in order to accept and understand as best as he could. Unfortunately, Carl didn’t have the answers Dad was expecting.

“He wasn't gonna make it alone. He needed us. That's why,” Carl explained.

Slowly, Dad nodded. “He was the one at the gas station.”

An explosion above us went off, shaking the tunnels. Carl erupted in a fit of coughs, sitting up quickly as he struggled to catch his breath.

I pushed away from Daryl, hurrying over to grab my brother. My baby brother.

“Careful.’ Gently, I set him back down as I looked over my shoulder. “Get me water.” Michonne was quick, handing me a bottle. “Thanks.” I offered her a gentle smile before turning back to Carl. “Sip this.”

“Easy.” Dad leaned in, watching Carl. “You got it? Slowly, slowly.”

The two of us were focused on Carl, trying our best to ignore the commotion above ground. It suddenly felt as if it wasn’t going to stop as more explosions went off.

Michonne pushed herself to her feet suddenly, storming over to Dwight. “Make it stop. Make them stop!”

He simply shook his head at her. “I can't.”

“You can,” she argued, shoving him against the wall. “You're one of them. They'll listen to you. Please. Please!” she begged.

“You said that Hilltop's safe, right?” Rosita asked, causing me to look over at her as she looked at Dwight.

“Yeah.” He nodded.

“We need to get everybody there.” Her eyes met mine. “We can get Carl there.”

“And they think all of you got away in the woods. They're out there, looking.”

Tara stood, agreeing with Rosita. “They saw us go west, so we won't go west.”

Dwight wasn’t seeing it, though. “Your best chance is to stay here until they're gone.”

“No.” Wiping away at my tears, I stood tall as I turned to my people. “Staying here means they can find us, and then we’re all dead. Heading to the Hilltop is our best bet.”

“They're almost done,” Dwight countered. “They gotta be. It wasn't about destroying the place. They don't have the ammo for that. After they let up, after they're gone, that's when we go.”

It wasn’t ideal. I knew I couldn’t be the only one wondering how much time we had before it would be too late to take Carl. But our options were limited, and as much as I wanted to protect my brother, I had to keep in mind that there were others that needed protecting, too.

Rosita shrugged. “Okay. We wait.”

“You sure going to Hilltop's the best plan?” Dwight asked.

“You got a better one?”

“All of you in one place, together…”

Daryl nodded. “All of us together… we'll be their worst damn nightmare.”

RPOV

I watched as Michonne took care of Carl. She watched him, like a mother. She never replaced Lori, but she was good to my kids. I knew this was hurting her, too.

“You left. You were supposed to be resting.”

Michonne smiled down at him. “I'm not tired.”

He chuckled lightly. “Yeah. You look great.”

I wiped away my tears as Vickie leaned her head against me while we sat on the ground against the wall. We were watching, unable to do anything other than wait.

Carl grew serious as he whispered something to Michonne I didn’t catch.

My attention was caught by Scott as he spoke up, “Sounds like they're letting up.”

It was only then that I realised the noises from above ground had lessened. They’d been drowned out by my reeling thoughts long ago as my brain tried to get a grasp on what was happening. I tried to think of a way to fix it all, but everything I considered I knew would fail.

There was no coming back from a bite from a walker.

Rosita nodded, looking up at the roof of the tunnel that stood just a couple of feet above us. “Looks like you were right. They're leaving.”

“Maybe.” Daryl turned to me. “Want me to go take a look?”

I nodded without saying a word.

He stepped up to Vickie and me, handing my granddaughter over to my daughter. He pressed a kiss to Vickie’s head and whispered something before heading down the tunnel to go check if the coast was really clear.

Turning back to Carl, I watched him, hoping we hadn’t left it too long.

VPOV

Daryl stepped up to me as I stood with Judith in my arms, rocking her back and forth. Aly was sitting by my feet, with Houdini, clutching her stuffed deer to her chest.

“They’re gone.”

I nodded, clutching my sister to me a little harder. Daryl took notice in the change, stepping closer to pull my head to his shoulder. My chest and throat ached from repressed tears. I couldn’t let myself cry anymore. I wouldn’t let myself.

“The Saviours are gone,” Michonne told Dad. “We can get everyone to Hilltop. We can get Carl there.”

“Carl?” Dad shook his head. “No.”

Something inside me broke.

“Daryl can get one of the cars,” Michonne suggested.

But Dad was adamant. “Carl won't make. He can't leave here. I have to stay with him.”

My grip on Judith slipped.

Daryl was quick to grab her as I reached for the wall to hold me up. I’d been holding onto the idea of taking Carl to the Hilltop. I wanted to make things easier for him. Give him pain meds, a soft bed, surround him with everyone he loved.

It couldn’t end like this. Not with him in the tunnels of the sewers under our fallen home. Not without everyone who cared for him.

“He can't.” Dad shook his head. “I have to stay.”

Understanding, Michonne nodded. “We'll both stay.”

Dad turned to me then. “Will you- will you take Judith? She needs to be there.”

A sob broke through my lips. “You can’t… you can’t ask me to do this,” I cried. “I can’t leave him. I can’t… I can’t-”

He grabbed me, keeping me from falling. “You have to go. You have to be there for your daughter. For Judith. If anything-” His voice broke. “If… happens-”

Daryl was next to us then, grabbing Dad’s shoulder with his free hand. “I'll take ‘em. I'll get ‘em there. I'll keep ‘em safe. I got this.”

“Let me say goodbye,” Carl voice croaked.

I watched as Daryl took Judith over to him, setting her right by the edge of Carl’s bed. Aly scurried over, grabbing Judith’s hand as Houdini whined where he lay.

Carl smiled at the two little girls. “You be good, okay?” His gaze focussed on our sister. “You be good for Michonne. For dad. You gotta honour him. Listen when he tells you stuff. You don't have to always. Sometimes, kids got to show their parents the way.”

Judith let out a sound that broke my heart all over again at the same time Aly wrapped her arms around my baby sister.

“You do me a favour?” Car started, making Aly pull back and look at him again. She nodded, wiping away tears with the back of her hand. “I need you to take care of your mum,” he told her. “Need to you make sure she’s okay. Cause I know she’s strong and tough, but… but sometimes she needs someone to be strong and tough for her. Think you can do that?”

Aly suddenly wrapped her arms around Carl’s neck as she cried. “I love you, Uncle Carl.”

That’s when I crumbled. I fell to the ground as I watched my daughter say goodbye to my brother.

When she pulled back, he took his hat off and gave it one last look over before putting it on Judith’s head. “This was dad's before it was mine. Now it's yours. I don't know… just- just having it and… it always kept Dad with me. It made me feel as strong as him. It helped me. Maybe it'll help you, too. Before Mum died, she told me that I was gonna beat this world. I didn't. But you will. I know you will.”

Judith started crying then, the sound echoing off the walls.

“Here we go.” Daryl picked her up and set her on his hip while he grabbed Aly’s hand with his free one. His set his eyes on my brother then, a sad but proud look in his eyes. “These people. You saved them all. That's all you, man.”

“Take care of my sisters.”

Daryl nodded. “I will. I promise.”

As Daryl stepped back, Carl then turned to me. Tears streamed down my face as I pushed myself up, only to drop by his bed. I looked down at him as he grew more and more pale and sickly by the minute.

“I feel like I failed you,” I cried. “You’re my baby brother. I’m supposed to protect you.”

“Can’t protect me forever.”

I met his gaze then. “You didn’t tell me. All day… you didn’t tell me.”

“I’m sorry. I wanted to, but I couldn’t. I didn’t want to worry you.” Grabbing my hand, he gave it a squeeze. “Everything else I said was true. Mum really would be proud of you. I know I am.”

The dam broke inside me as I wailed, my head dropping to his chest as I cried my heart out.

“Come on, Vic. We gotta go.” Daryl’s hand landed on my chest. “We gotta go.”

Tara and Sasha helped me to my feet, holding me as I grew limp, unable to stop crying. I didn’t fight as I was led away from my brother. I didn’t have it in me to struggle. All I could do was cry, knowing I was never going to see my brother again.

CPOV

Seeing Vickie broke my heart. Watching as she had to be practically carried out of the tunnels… it hurt worse than the disease eating away at me.

“You were helping me honour my Mum…”

I looked to Siddiq, fighting the urge to cry. “Not just yours. Mine, too.”

“You brought me here. You gave me a chance. I know I can never repay you. But I can honour you by showing your people, your f-friends, your- your family that what you did wasn't for nothing. That it mattered. That it- That it meant something. Because it did. So that's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna honour you, Carl.”

I reached out, offering him my hand. He took it, holding it carefully as I smiled up at him. “Congratulations. You're stuck with us.”

Whether anyone else liked it or not, he was now family. I was just happy he got to be part of mine before I died.

RPOV

Michonne and I were doing everything we could to make sure Carl was as comfortable as possible. It pained me, but I knew I had to stay strong for him. If I was being honest, the only thing getting me through it all was my shock.

I wanted to best for him. I always had and I always will.

Looking around the tunnels, I shook my head and turned to Michonne. “I need your help.”

“With what?”

“Getting him out of here.”

He might not be able to make it to the Hilltop, but I wasn’t letting him die in the sewers.

…

With one of Carl’s arms over my shoulders and his other over Michonne’s we carried him through Alexandria, trying to find any place we could set him down. I wanted to find a working car as we could get him away from the fire, but I had a feeling there weren’t going to be any left.

Instead, we’d take him home. He’d be more comfortable at home.

“We need to stop.”

“The house up ahead,” I grunted, moving as quickly but also as carefully as I could. We can make it.”

Carl shook his head. “It's okay. Just put me down here. It's okay.”

“No. We'll make it.”

“Please.” At the sound of him begging, I stopped.

He was in pain. He didn’t have much time left. As much as I wanted to take him home, I realised I needed to listen to him. He couldn’t make it, so I couldn’t force him.

“There.” Michonne gestured to the church.

It had mostly burned down but it was still standing. The flames had died, leaving it somewhat safe. While it wasn’t home, or comfortable, it was better than being in the sewers or out in the open.

With another grunt, I turned towards the church and started for it.

Once inside, Michonne and I took him to the alter and set him down on the ground where there was minimal dirt and rubble. We were gentle and careful, making sure we didn’t cause him anymore pain than he was already in.

“Thanks for- for getting me here,” he breathed heavily.

“I'm- I'm sorry. I-I just I didn't I didn't want you out there. I-I-”

“No. No for getting me here. For- For making it so I could be who- who I wound up.” He paused, looking away before meeting my gaze again. “Back at the prison when we got attacked… there was a kid, a little older than me. He had a gun. He was- He was starting to put it down, and I-I sh… I shot him. He was- He was giving it up, and I- I just I shot him. I think about him. What I did to him and how- how easy it was to just kill him.”

I shook my head. “Carl, no. No. What happened what you'd lost- all those things you had to- all those things you had to do. You- you- you- you were just- you were just a boy.”

“And you saw it. What it did… how- how easy it got,” he told me. “That's why you changed. Why you brought those people from Woodbury in. You brought them in, and we all lived together. We were enemies. You put away your gun. You did it so I could change, so I could be who I am now. What you did then… how you- how you stopped fighting… it was right. It still is. It can be like that again. You can still be like that again.”

He was wrong. “I can't be who I was. It's different now.”

“You can't kill all of 'em, Dad. There's gotta be something after. For you and for them. There's gotta be something after. I know you can't see it yet… how it could be. But I have. You have a beard. It's- It's bigger and greyer. Michonne's happy. Judith is older, and she's listening to the songs that I used to before. Vickie has a family of her own- kids of her own. Alexandria's bigger. There's- there's new houses, crops and people working. Everybody living helping everybody else live. If you can still be who you were that's how it could be. It could.”

“Carl. It was all for you. Right from the start. Back in Atlanta, the farm… everything I did, it was for you and Victoria. Then, at the prison, it was for you and your sisters. It still is. It's gonna be. And nothing, nothing is gonna change that.”

“I want this for you, Dad.”

He needed this. My son was dying in front of me, asking me for this one favour. It felt impossible, but it was his last wish. His dying wish.

“I'm gonna make it real, Carl.” I nodded, feeling tears fall from my face. “I promise. I'm gonna make it real.”

My boy. My baby boy…

“Carl I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. A father's job is to protect his son.”

“Love,” he corrected. “It's just to love.”

I watched as he then pulled out his gun. “No. No.”

Michonne could barely form a sentence as she cried, “Carl. It- It- It- It should be-”

He nodded. “I know. I know. Somebody you love. When you can't do it yourself. But I still can. I grew up. I have to do this. Me.” He cried then, looking up at her. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

He then turned to me. “I love you, dad.”

I choked on my sobs, looking down at my son as he held a gun to his head. “I love you, Carl. I love you so much. I'll make it real. I will. I will.”

Michonne helped me to my feet then, walking us away. She knew he wouldn’t want us to see this. Me to see this.

I stood outside on the porch of the church, when I heard the sound of his gun going off.

Carl was dead. My son. My boy. He was gone.

Bamby

[bamby0304]

Victoria Grimes VIII: War

Ch.8: Hand-prints

Series Masterlist

Summary: Daryl and Victoria have worked through her mistakes made at the Sanctuary and have decided to keep the truth between themselves. But with the war between their communities and the Saviours brewing, their bond will be tested all over again. Lies, death and the threat of defeat are coming for Vickie… will she be strong enough to come through in one piece?

Warnings: Angst. Violence.

Bamby

DPOV

"So we cover you with crossfire from the upper windows, you crash the truck into the walkers and through to the building." Michonne stood with her hands on her hips as she tried to figure out what the plan was.

She, Rosita, Tara and me were out of the truck now, working out the steps we were gonna take to go through with this. To take things to the next level. To end it once and for all. Screw waiting, things needed doing now.

"Yep," Tara nodded, "crack it open, Saviour buffet."

Rosita didn't seem too confident. "You know the workers will make it away, up the stairs?"

"They're on the other side of the building. They should make it." Should was the best I could give.

There was no telling how things had gone down since we'd locked the Saviours inside. But either way, we still had to do this. We just had to trust that they would be okay.

Still, Rosita wasn't convinced. "You sure?"

"After we do this, their only choice is to give up," I noted.

"It's risky," Michonne countered. "They could see the truck comin'."

"There weren't any more weapons at the Saviours' warehouse, right? No more rockets for the RPG's. We work with what we got." Tara was on my side, no matter what. We both knew this had to be done.

Vic wouldn't have agreed. Not completely. She still worried about the workers, the people she saw being ruled by the Saviours. She'd spent more time out with them than I had. She'd been closer to living their life- though I was aware she was still treated differently… not like how I was treated though. She might be okay with killing Saviours, but she would not risk the lives of those who couldn't defend themselves.

I knew there was a bigger chance that they were fine, but she would have doubts. Those doubts were part of the reason why I didn't tell her where I was gone. That and the fact I didn't want her anywhere near the Sanctuary or Negan ever again.

"You got me." We all turned to see Morgan walking towards us. "Other snipers, too. Saviours see you comin', we got you covered, whatever it takes. I want it done. I want them done."

"Good." I nodded and turned to Rosita and Michonne again. "So, we doin' this or what?"

"W-Why don't we just wait it out like we planned?" Rosita asked. "Michonne's right. What you're talking about is risky. Things could go bad."

"The truck with the speakers almost took all those walkers away. It almost did go bad. Something else could." Tara wasn't wrong. We didn't know what kind of contingency plans the Saviours had put in place for emergencies.

"Even if it don't, we don't got the Kingdom fighters no more," I added. "I mean, if the Saviours want to put up a fight, we don't got the numbers to make 'em surrender."

"That's why Rick's talking to the Scavengers," Rosita noted, honestly thinking that was a good move.

Tara looked to her. "You got shot. They lied to us. You- you believe 'em now?"

"I believe in Rick Grimes," Rosita countered.

"I could've done something sooner, to end this. I knew about those weapons at Oceanside, and I waited. I didn't do shit about it." Tara wasn't just doing this because of everything she'd lost, but because of what had happened when she hadn't acted before. "With or without you, I'm not letting that happen again."

"Then it's without me." Rosita lifted her shoulder in a short shrug. "I'm out." Pushing off the truck, she started to walk away.

As she passed Morgan, he stopped her. "We got some cars parked near the east-side lookout. You can take one and go home."

Looking back to Michonne, she asked, "You staying? You good with all this?"

"I helped get this started. Got to see it through."

"You think it's easier to come out here and risk, than to stay back there and wait. And I get it, I used to believe that, too. Thing is sometimes, you just have to wait. Sometimes you don't get to know. I just wish it didn't take seeing Sasha walk out of that coffin to realise it." With that, Rosita left.

"Come on." I gestured for the others to follow as I moved to get back into the truck. "Let's go."

CPOV

I opened the manhole outside our walls but still joined up with our sewers. Siddiq looked down before looking back up at me.

"It's just 'til I can talk to my dad." I was all I had to offer.

He nodded, a thankful smile finding its way onto his face. "I appreciate this."

"I'll bring you some supplies. I just have to make sure I don't get caught."

"You don't have to do this," he assured me.

"Yeah, I do."

With a small nod and one last smile, he began to climb down into the tunnels below. I watched and waited until his feet landed on the ground before covering up the manhole. Making sure no one was watching still, I then headed for the wall. I knew it wasn't going to be easy to climb when my side hurt the way it did, but I'd snuck out, so I had to sneak back in.

…

I'd cleaned myself up bandaged up my side as best as I could. I knew there was no real point, though. I knew what my fate was going to be. That was okay though, there was no point in fight or denying it. Instead I was going to spend the rest of what time I had left helping my family and Siddiq.

Dad was going to be pissed when he found out I'd brought him back, but I knew it was the right thing to do. He'd understand eventually.

Turning for the door, I opened it only to find Vickie standing on the other side, her fist lifted, ready to knock.

"Where the hell did you go?"

She glared at me, trying to scold, but I could see the worry behind it. She was always worried about me. The world might've changed but she would always see me as her baby brother.

"I found someone."

"You found someone? What someone? A Saviour?"

"No." I shook my head, trying to explain, "He's just a guy. He was out there on his own. I… I wanted to help him."

She paused, looking me up and down. If she had been anyone else I would expect her to yell. I knew most of our people would be skeptical that he's actually just some random survivor out there. Most would think he'd be a Saviour sent out to spy on us or something. Vickie, however, didn't always think like the others.

"Where is he?"

"Safe. I just… I need to get some supplies. Just a few," I assured her.

Nodding, she stepped aside. "Okay. But next time, don't go off without saying something. I worry about you."

"I know." Smiling, I leaned over to kiss her cheek. "I'll be back soon," I called before hurrying down the hall.

I knew she wouldn't follow. I knew I could trust that she wouldn't tell anyone about me sneaking off, or helping someone, or taking supplies. I knew I could trust her just like she trusted me.

…

Siddiq had everything he needed for now. I'd made sure he had light, some food and water, a travel bed and things to make it a little more comfortable down there. I hadn't managed to get a lot but it would do for now.

I didn't have much time to explain to everyone why I'd brought him. I knew dad was going to be the hardest to convince. That's why I needed him to come back as soon as possible.

"If he's not back soon, we'll meet him there," Tobin assured me as we stood on the lookout by the front gate. "Hopefully, they'll be with him."

I didn't know if the Scavengers would join us. I wasn't sure if I trusted them. They were the least of my worries right now, though. All I wanted, all I needed, was to see my family.

"What about Michonne?" I asked.

I hadn't been able to find her. I'd looked, hoping to maybe start explaining who Siddiq was and why I'd brought him back. But she was nowhere to be found.

"Ah." Reaching into the front pocket of his shirt, Tobin handed me a letter.

I unfolded it, seeing Michonne's handwriting looking up at me.

I had to see it for myself.

I'm sorry I didn't say goodbye first. Will be back soon.

Michonne.

She was gone, and I had no idea when she'd get back. I had no idea if I'd even get to see her again.

NPOV

With Lucille resting on my shoulder, I sat at the table in the meeting room, waiting as Eugene stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. Gesturing to one of the other many seats, I waited for him to sit down.

"If things don't get fixed soon, a lot of people are gonna die. My people," I started. "Not me, of course. I'm livin' no matter what. I am too good at this shit. But others I can't have that. I don't want to see people get shot up, chewed up, and chewing up the rest. I don't want to see you get eaten, Eugene."

He watched me intently, with obvious fear and some curiosity.

Getting up, I started towards him before taking a seat on the table. "This place, it's about pooling and organising strength. And you my friend, are strong. That spongy organ between your eyes and your spectacular mullet is strong, and I just want to make sure that you know that I know that."

"Consider me made. Our pages are utterly and completely one and the same," he assured me.

Pushing off the table, I stood before him and offered my hand.

Looking down at it, he hesitated before reaching up to take it… and reaching in to kiss it.

I was quick to stop him by snatching my hand away. "Eugene I was going for a handshake." Embarrassed, he gave a small nod, making me grin out of amusement. "Stand up." As he rose, I took his hand to shake it. "Now, I can see where you'd be confused, as I rarely do that shit. A handshake is a sign of mutual respect. Not many people get that from me."

"There's work that needs getting to." Nodding, he hurried out of the room.

Watching him leave, I wondered if I'd put my respect in the wrong corner. Was he the one helping Rick the prick? Or was he the one who would get us out of this shit show?

DPOV

"Hey, cut that engine," Morgan's voice called through the walkie. "Any closer, you'll draw walkers from the yard."

Stopping the truck, I parked it not too far from the sanctuary. From here we still had a bit of a view, which I checked out with the spyglass before handing it over to Tara.

"You take fire from the windows, we fire back."

"Come on." Tara opened her door and slid out. "There's a spot for cover by the chutes," she noted before walking away, leaving Michonne and me in the truck.

I looked to her. "You up for this?"

"I came here 'cause I wanted to see things for myself. I wanted to know that things were gonna work. But you know what?" She shook her head. "I don't get to know that. None of us do. What I do know is that things are working now. So maybe we just need to trust that things are gonna keep working, because this what we're about to do it's not worth risking us."

"It is for me. Just is." There were so many reasons… some I could never tell anyone else.

"I hope it works. I-I really, really do, but I-I can't do it. I just can't."

"Then you shouldn't."

I wasn't going to be mad at her. I could understand where she was coming from. I could see her points. She didn't have the things driving me. She hadn't been treated like an animal, caged, striped, tortured. She hadn't almost lost her partner to a monster. She knew she had a lot to lose, but it wasn't enough to push her forward and I could understand that.

Slipping out of the truck, she looked to Tara without a word and then turned, heading off in the other direction.

Realising it was just us now, Tara came over to my side of the truck. "We got Morgan and the snipers. We can do this."

"Yeah. We will."

VPOV

I was pissed. I was pacing the kitchen, pissed. Daryl was gone. Michonne was gone. Dad was gone. Carl was going off on his own to save people.

I felt sick.

Hurrying to the bathroom, I dropped to my knees as I threw up in the bowl. The stress of the day had me emptying out the contents of my stomach. My head pounded as every strange scent I came across had my insides churn.

Everything was becoming too much.

"You okay?" Carl asked as he stood in the doorway, watching as I got up and washed my face.

Nodding, I watched him through the mirror. "Just dandy."

He looked down at the ground before meeting my gaze. "I was wondering if… if you wanted to hangout?"

Frowning, I turned to lean on the counter as I studied him carefully. "What's going on, Carl?"

"What do you mean? Can't a brother want to hang out with his sister?"

"That's the thing," I pushed off the counter and started towards him, "we don't get to hangout anymore. Shit's always hitting the fan. We're too busy dodging the next hit to even think about 'hanging out'. So what the hell is going on?"

He sighed, shrugging. "You're right. We don't get to hang out anymore, and I miss it. I missed you when you were gone. And let's face it, you haven't been yourself since you came back. I know you've got secrets, and I know you're not gonna tell me what happened. But I worried about you, and I still do. So I wanna hang out."

I didn't answer right away. Instead I watched him, trying to figure out if he was lying or not. There didn't seem to be any reason why he would lie, though. Everything he said made sense, and to be honest I missed being able to just be brother and sister.

It was tiring being Victoria, daughter of Rick Grimes, wife of Daryl Dixon. The title, the expectation. Even though I'd stepped back from a leading role there was still responsibilities that fell on my shoulders. Honestly, life had become exhausting.

Things were only going to get worse, though. We all knew it. While dad believed the Saviours were going to fold easily after our attacks, I had my suspicions. We wouldn't crack so quickly, so why would they?

Right now I had a moment to just be, and to enjoy the time with my brother. So I was going to enjoy it while I can.

"Okay, we can hang." I softened, smiling at him. "But there's one big difference between now and when we were younger."

"The world fell apart and the dead came back to life?"

"No," I scoffed. "Now I'm a mum. Which means it's a package deal."

He shrugged. "Sounds perfect."

CPOV

Vickie sat on the porch, helping Aly press her painted hand-print on the porch along with mine, Judith and Vickie's. The hand-prints were all blue, but each a different size. It brought a small and sad smile to my lips.

They didn't know. No one knew yet. I didn't want to worry them. I didn't want to distract anyone.

Tell people I was dying was only going to make things worse. So, instead, I wanted to leave my mark. It's why I wanted to hang out with my sisters and my niece. I wanted the girls to remember me, and I wanted Vickie to just… I wanted her there.

She was my best friend. We'd been through hell together. We'd always been close. I knew she was still a mess from losing Glenn and Abraham, and I knew being taken to the Sanctuary had done a number on her. Losing me was only going to make things worse. I didn't want her last memories of me to be anything other than this.

I wanted her to remember me as I sat on the rocking chair on the porch, rocking Judith on my lap. I wanted her to remember me as I told jokes to Aly and pulled funny faces at her. I wanted her to remember me as I played fetch with Houdini. I wanted her to remember the good, the mundane.

"Oh!" Aly suddenly jumped to her feet. "I have a great idea!" She beamed before hurrying to head inside.

"Wash your hands before you touch anything!" Vickie called out to her.

Aly didn't call back or answer, but she was a good kid. She'd do as she was told.

"You're a good mum." I smiled at my sister. "Mum would be proud."

She looked down at her lap, a smile teasing her lips as if she wasn't sure if she wanted to smile or not. "Sometimes I worry she'd disagree with how I raise her. How things turned out."

I just shook my head. "No, I know she'd be proud. She was always proud of us."

Vickie had come a long way since we'd lost Mum. She'd barely been able to talk back then. Things had been so disconnected and scrambled for her. I'd never really thought about what it must've been like for her.

Sure, I had been the one to kill her. I'd been the one to end things before she had come back to life. It had always haunted me, and part of me was glad I would finally be able to rest without having nightmares of that day. But Vickie was going to have to live with it.

"Daryl wants a baby."

My eyes went wide as I stared at her in shock, having not expected those words. I didn't respond. I wasn't sure I even knew what to say.

She sighed, pushing herself off the ground as she used a rag to wipe the blue paint from her hand. Leaning against the railing of the porch, she looked out at our neighbourhood with a sad look in her eyes.

"Dr Carson said there's a good chance I can't get pregnant. Didn't say it was impossible, but there's so much scarring from everything I've been through…" Her gaze dropped. "Daryl doesn't know."

A furrow grew on my brow. "You haven't told him?" She simply shook her head. "Why not?"

"Because I feel broken." She shrugged, looking out at the field in front of our home. "Because I feel like the chances are so low that there's no way it'll happen. But I don't want to tell him because I know he wants it, more than anything. Pretty sure he wants a baby more than he wants Negan dead," she scoffed.

"Do… do you want a baby?"

Looking over her shoulder, she smiled. "Yes."

They were perfect parents, Daryl and Vickie. In the world we lived in, they'd done a great job raising Aly. She was as strong as she needed to be for her age- which I wasn't entirely sure what that was, but she wasn't any older than 6. She knew how to take an order when needed. If things got bad you could count on her to stay safe until she was allowed out.

At the same time, though, she was still sweet and innocent. It was hard to stay like that as a kid growing up in the hell we lived in.

The front door opened then as Aly rushed out, carrying her polaroid camera. "Look!" She held it up in the air. "I thought we could take some pictures."

I smiled at her as she came over to my chair, a little out of breath. "That sounds like a great idea."

DPOV

"I'm here. I'm ready," Tara's whispered voice came through the walkie once she was closer to the gates of the Sanctuary.

"South lookout ready for go," Morgan's voice followed, closely by the other snipers'.

"East lookout, ready."

"North lookout, ready."

"West lookout, ready."

Once I knew everyone was in position and ready, I started forward. "Now," I called through the walkie.

Just a few seconds later, I heard gunshots.

They came from the Sanctuary. I wasn't sure what was happening, because I couldn't see a damn thing, but I had no doubt they'd seen and heard the truck, and they were trying to stop it. That added a new level to the situation.

With the snipers, Saviours, and Tara shooting at each other, I had no choice but to speed up as I headed straight for the Sanctuary. Once I neared where Tara was waiting, I grabbed the cinder block and shifted my foot over to replace it with the brick. Then I jumped out of the truck.

Running over to a turned over car, I hid from the walkers and watched as the truck crashed into the wall and opened up a spot for the walkers to head into the Sanctuary.

"Daryl, you're clear to the south. You and Tara should head home," Morgan suggested through the walkie.

Not wasting the opportunity, I gestured for Tara to follow before we both ran up the road, away from the chaos, and started towards the waiting vehicles so we could get back home.

NPOV

Eugene had laid out his plan to get everyone the hell out of the fucked up situation we'd been put in. I wasn't a hundred percent sold on the idea, but the look on his face was pissed and determined… a great combination.

"It'll take an ass-load of ammo," I noted.

He gave a short nod. "It will. Even with shot discipline and P and Q minding."

"Can my bullet maker fill my guns back up?"

"If you give my machines to me or me to my machines that is an affirmative."

Pacing the room, I grinned at him as I watched to see his reaction to my next comment. "You do realise the storm of shit I'm gonna dump on Rick as soon as I am clear of the shit storm he dumped on me."

"I do, indeed." He didn't even flinch.

"Goddamn, Eugene. How does it feel to be the second-most important person here? How does it feel to save these good people?"

"It feels great." His lips tugged up into the slightest of smiles. "Got something else of urgency for you. Another item solved."

"More than a way out and a promise of bullets on the way? Jesus, Eugene, you are magnificent."

"I am."

"So, what is it? Tell me." Before he could say anything, however, there was a knock on the door. "What?"

"We have the stairs," Regina stated as she walked in, followed by Dwight and a few other Saviours. "But the dead ones have the lower level. The whole thing.

I wasn't worried. Not anymore. "Not much longer. See, Eugene has solved us a way out of this mess. And he actually says he has a topper."

"Yeah?" Dwight looked to Eugene, waiting to hear what he might have to say.

Eugene paused a moment before speaking. "I think I could fix the intercom system. Which, uh would absolutely change the face of communications here."

I'd be lying if I wasn't disappointed by that anticlimactic information. "That's it?"

"Sorry. That kind of thing, uh well, cranks my shaft," he mumbled as he turned to leave the room. "I'll leave you to the last action item."

RPOV

The doors to the storage container opened again, only this time it was just one guy outside. He grabbed me by my bound wrists and neck, pulling me to stand in front of him before leading me out into the open area surrounded by garbage. Across from us was another storage container, a closed one.

Pushing me down to my knees, he ignored me as ai struggled, watching and waiting for something to happen.

The other storage container opened… and a walker was walked out.

It was naked like I was, its wrists bound behind its back unlike how mine were tied in front. A metal headpiece had been crafted onto its head, making it harder to kill. The added spikes were just another level of complication. On the back of the headpiece was a metal rode, being held to control the walker.

Jadis stopped beside the person holding the rode controlling the walker. Her eyes set on me. "Time for after."

Still being held down, I began to struggle more as the walker was moved towards me. When it was just a few feet away I quickly threw my bound hands up and back, punching the Scavenger behind me, and then rolled away.

The person controlling the walker hadn't expected me to move so fast, which meant they lost control. As they tried to collect themselves and the walker, I took the opportunity to get up and knock them out of the way as well. Then I grabbed the rod.

"Subdue!" Jadis ordered.

Now in control of the walker, I didn't use it against the Scavengers. Instead I used the rode to add force to my punches to keep them away. The more I moved the rode, however, the more the walker's head began to tear off.

Once the head was free I was more free to use the rod, which made it easier to knock the Scavengers to the ground hard enough to keep them there. Then I went for Jadis.

She pulled out a gun. As she went to shoot me I moved faster, grabbing her hands to aim the gun at the ground. She struggled, pulling the trigger a few times as she tried to get it aimed at me again, but in the end I managed to push her down to the ground and pull the weapon from her grasp.

Grabbing her neck, I edged her closer to the snapping jaws of the walker's head which lay just a few inches away.

"I'm walking out now, and me walking out means all of you die," I called to all the Scavengers, seeing them itching to help but not risking it when I was so close to killing their leader. "My people. There's a lot of them. Won't attack today, but we will attack. You can play your games, draw your pictures, sculpt whatever shit you want, but I am leaving! After that maybe you should just run." Looking down at Jadis, I asked, "We done?"

"Yes." She nodded quickly but tightly against my grip.

Letting her go, I stood back and watched as she got to her feet again. I was fully expecting them to try something else, but I was hoping I'd proved enough that I wouldn't go down without a fit.

"Join you. What then?" Jadis asked.

"The Sanctuary is surrounded. Walkers. 20 deep around the compound," I reminded her. "You'll come with me there we'll wait till the others meet us. When they do, we'll ask the lieutenants to surrender. All of us, together. Then I kill Negan, me alone. We have a deal?"

"After, Saviours' things our things. Yes and yes," she tried bargaining.

"It'll be all of ours. You'll get a fourth."

"Half."

"A fourth." I wasn't bending this time. She gets a fourth, or nothing.

"Fourth, and I sculpt you after. Stand for me, those off." He gestured to the last of my clothes, my boxers.

"These off," I lifted my hands and nodded to the rope tied around my wrists, "no sculpting. My boots and my clothes now."

"Fourth," she grumbled. After a pause, though, she calmed herself down. "Fourth."

DPOV

I had a feeling I was going to be in the shit when I returned home. Entering the gates, something in my gut told me Vic knew I'd left and she was pissed. Honestly, I'd expected it. I knew my actions would have come with consequences and her temper was a possible one. It was worth it, though. I had to go to the Sanctuary. I had to finish it.

Off in the distance I spotted Michonne and Judith under a tree.

Michonne knelt on the ground, smiling down at Judith as the little girl played with a stuffed bear. "We'll be back soon," Michonne assured her, smiling so as not to worry the little girl. "I'll bring your daddy, too, okay? Can you say bye-bye?"

"Bye-bye," Judith said in return, making Michonne's smile grow.

Leaning forward, Michonne gave her a kiss. "Bye." Pausing one more moment to watch the little girl, she then stood and headed my way. "Hey."

"Hi." I nodded at her, watching as she stopped in front of me.

"I'm glad you came back. It's better we go out there together."

"It worked. We'll roll in, tell them to give up. They're gonna give up." I was sure of it.

She took a breath. "I'm sorry. I couldn't."

"Don't be. It worked."

That's all that mattered. Knowing that the win was waiting for us to take it. Knowing no more of our people had to die. She didn't need to be there for the middle part. She just had to be there for the end.

We all did. Even Vic.

I didn't want her anywhere near Negan, but I wanted her to come with us now. To see what we'd done. To see the place that had torn her down and tore me apart was in pieces. I wanted her to see she would never have to step foot in that place again.

No one, none of them, were ever going to touch her again.

RPOV

I led Jadis and her people towards the Sanctuary. We couldn't see it yet, but I knew we were getting close. Gesturing for them to stay back, I started towards the water tower… and stopped when I spotted the three walkers eating one of my people.

After dealing with the walkers, I grabbed the sniper's walkie and sent out a radio message to the others. "Snipers, report in. This is Rick Grimes. Does anybody copy?" There was no response.

Looking up at the water tower, I decided to head up to get a look of the situation. Grabbing the rifle the sniper had dropped, I started the climb and turned to the Sanctuary. What I saw had my blood run cold.

The walkers were all dead.

Lifting the walkie to my mouth again, I tried for a response one more time… but deep down I knew there would be none. "North, West, South, report."

Somehow, the Saviours had gotten out, and if that was the case they'd be out for blood.

Hurrying down the water tower, I ran back the Jadis and the others. I didn't tell them what was going on because I didn't want them to betray me again. Instead I just told them to follow me before we started towards the Sanctuary. With each step, I just kept praying the Saviours hadn't had time to leave yet.

The closer we got, though, the obvious things became. The Saviours were gone.

Seeing all the dead walkers, Jadis turned to me. "Different from picture."

Right then, people began to shoot at us. We all ducked away, Jadis going right while I jumped left.

"Jadis!" I called. "It's coming from the window! We hit it and fall…" as I looked around my barrier to her, I saw the Scavengers running away, leaving me behind, "back."

Just as I began contemplating making a break for it myself, knowing the chances of me getting hit were high, a car sped around the corner and stopped close by.

I jumped up and made a break for it as Carol opened the door for me. Once inside, I yelled, "Go!"

Putting her foot on the gas, she got the hell out of there.

"They got out. It hasn't been long. We have to warn everyone. They're gonna hit back," I noted as Carol sped down the road.

"We can get the cars near the East lookout and split up," she suggested.

"Might have to find other rides. The snipers probably used theirs to get away," Jerry- who sat in the passenger seat- countered.

I shook my head. "I don't think they got away." If one sniper had been killed and left for the walkers, I got the feeling the others had, too.

Bamby

[bamby0304]

Victoria Grimes VIII: War

Ch.7: Honour

Series Masterlist

Summary: Daryl and Victoria have worked through her mistakes made at the Sanctuary and have decided to keep the truth between themselves. But with the war between their communities and the Saviours brewing, their bond will be tested all over again. Lies, death and the threat of defeat are coming for Vickie… will she be strong enough to come through in one piece?

Warnings: Angst. Violence.

Bamby

VPOV

As soon as the gates of Alexandria opened, I could see the look on Tobin’s face. Daryl stopped the bike and let me climb off as I reached out for the two notes in the other man’s grasp. One was from Maggie, and the other was from Carol.

“How bad are things?” I asked, looking up from the letters.

Tobin shook his head. “I don’t know.”

Sighing, I opened the first letter, the one from Maggie, and began to read.

We beat 'em, but things got complicated. Jesus took prisoners, brought 'em back home. We're holding 'em outside our gates for now, till we decide what to do. Until I decide.

“Fuck.”

I could only imagine the stress she was under. Choosing to kill that many people who were now defenceless was not right. But keeping them alive was not easy. It wasn’t safe. The plan had been to kill and ask no questions, to not pause, to not think, to just do. Jesus might’ve had good intentions, but he’d royally fucked up.

Taking a breath, I turned to Carol’s letter.

We took the outpost bit by bit. We thought we'd won. We were gathered up in the open when they ambushed us. It was over in seconds. Ezekiel, Jerry, and me, we're the only ones who made it back.

I’d known no one else had made it, but that didn’t make things any easier. Actually seeing the words, knowing they came from someone I trusted and cared for and not just some random Saviour, made it all the more real.

“Vickie.”

I turned, seeing Michonne headed my way. Reaching into my jacket, I pulled out the letter Dad had written while the Jeep had burned. 

“How’s Aly?” I asked as I handed the letter over.

“She’s okay,” she assured me. “How’s… how’s Rick?”

“He’s as okay as he can be.”

…

“Mummy! Daddy!” Aly came bounding down the porch steps as Daryl and I walked down the road, nearing home. 

After reading the letters, we’d gone over to pay our respects to those we’d lost and had already been buried. We’d driven through the night, not stopping until we got back, got to our people. To see how many of them had fallen broke my heart.

Seeing Aly’s bright face, however, made a smile of my own tug on my lips.

Daryl leaned forward just as she jumped at him. She giggled as he caught her, holding her close. “I missed you.”

“We missed you, too.” Reaching forward, I tucked some of her hair behind her ear. “Michonne told me you were very good.”

She gave a firm nod. “I made sure I was with her, Carl, or Rosita the whole time.”

“Good girl.” Stepping forward, I gave her cheek a kiss before pulling back. “Where’s Houdini?”

“He’s inside with Carl and Judy,” she answered as Daryl set her back on the ground and took her hand. Holding onto him tightly, she led us up the porch and into the house. “Carl! Mum and Dad are back.”

I looked around the corner where Carl was sitting on the ground, playing with Judith and the dog. The three of them seemed to be having a blast, and once more I felt myself smile as the sight warmed my heart. We didn’t get a lot of moments to be happy and have fun these days. I didn’t get a lot of time to just be a mum and a big sister.

Daryl stepped up to me. “I’m gonna see if anyone needs me to do anything. You gonna be okay here?”

Nodding, I kept my eyes on my family as Judith hurried over to join the others on the ground. “I’m good.”

Leaning in, Daryl pressed a kiss to my temple. “I love you,” he muttered so only I could hear him.

Without looking, I reached out to find his hand and gave it a squeeze. “I love you, too.”

MPOV

Walking out of the Hilltop to where we were keeping the Saviours against the fence, I watched in bewilderment as Jesus handed out food to them. Our food.

“Jesus.” Instead of turning to me, he just continued to hand out food. It seriously got on my nerves. “Jesus.” I stormed over to him.

“Hi.”

“You're giving away our food.”

Of course he had a response. “We had a bumper crop of turnips in the root cellar. We couldn't get rid of them. Saviours left them behind after they raided us.

“That cellar is there for a reason,” I countered. “We might have plenty now, but that could change. We got to look after our own.”

“Paul,” Gregory stepped up behind me, “this is a farce, it's gone on long enough. I mean, build a gallows already. You're handy, Margaret. Save the bullets and be done with it.”

“Gregory,” I warned.

While he wasn’t entirely wrong, I didn’t want to hear from him. It might actually be one of the reasons why I hadn’t killed the Saviours yet. Knowing it’s what Gregory wanted had me pausing.

Then there was also the fact the I understood Jesus, too. I got both their points of view. I knew what each choice meant, the consequences and the positives. Either way there were risks and benefits. It wasn’t an easy decision to make.

Gregory wasn’t listening to my warning, though. “What? I'm just saying what everybody inside there is thinking.”

“Go inside. Now.”

“Come on, Gregory,” Enid called from a few steps behind us.

Sighing, Gregory turned to me one last time. “You know I'm right.”

Once he and Enid were walking away, I looked to Jesus again. “You shouldn't have put us in this position.”

“Are you seriously thinking about doing what Gregory said?”

“Every option's on the table. They have to be.”

“What are we fighting for, Maggie?”

I couldn’t believe he was asking me that, after everything I’d been through. After everything he knew the Saviours and Negan had put me through. Everything I’d lost because of them.

“You know.”

Still, he was adamant. “Yeah, I thought I did. That's why they're here.”

“We have to end this and Negan.”

“We will.” He nodded. “But when we do, we have to make sure what's left is worth what we lost.”

Not wanting to argue with him again, I turned on my heels and walked off, not giving a single Saviour a glance.

RPOV

The Scavengers were gathered in two circles- a smaller one inside of a larger one. I was led into the middle as Jadis walked through to meet me there.

“Alone?” she asked.

I gave a short nod. “I am.”

“I shot you.”

“Grazed me,” I corrected. If she’d shot me I would still be healing with Michonne and Rosita.

“Why back after?”

“For the same thing I wanted before. A deal.”

She tilted her head, watching me carefully. “Trust you? Shot you.”

“You grazed me,” I corrected, again. “I woulda still been mad if you'd shot me.”

“We kill your people.”

“We killed some of yours, too,” I countered. “But we need you, and you need us.”

One of the other leaders leaned forward, looking at me with a curled lip.

“Trick.”

“It's not. I coulda come with my people, taken this place. You know I have the numbers for that now. You saw it.”

“Still?” Jadis wasn’t looking at me with accusation. She was more curious, and a little cautious. “Alone, you. Need us to save you.”

“Not anymore.” I reached into my back pocket and pulled out the polaroid pictures of what my people and I had done to the Saviours. “The Saviours are finished.” I lifted the photos to show them all. “We took down their outposts. Negan and his people are trapped by walkers, hundreds of them. Until they surrender or we end them. That's their choice. Now I'm giving one to you.”

Did I actually trust these people? Absolutely not. But I knew, in a world like this, you don’t survive on your own, and you certainly don’t thrive under Negan’s thumb. They might think they’re fine now, but if they kept on going the way they were, and we didn’t win, it would only be a matter of time before Negan took over their lives too. Joining us, banding together, it would benefit us all.

The enemy of my enemy and all that crap.

“Look, I get it. You take, don't bother. So you took Negan's deal. I'm here to offer a better one. My people will win. Your choice is to forget Negan. Switch sides again. And be a part of the next world that Alexandria, the Hilltop, and the Kingdom will build together. Or we destroy you.”

Another one of the leaders- Brion- stepped forward. “Threats and dreams. Dreams and threats.”

“Now, my people know I'm here. And what they do next depends on what you do right now. Yes or no? What's it gonna be?”

Jadis watched me carefully before a smirk tugged on her lips. “No.”

Two of her people grabbed me then, leading me away. I wasn’t worried, though. I knew that if anything happened to me it wouldn’t work out for them. They’re only safe option was to give in, and they still had a chance… but they wouldn’t have that chance forever.

MPOV

I sat in Gregory’s old office… I guess it’s my office now. Sitting at the desk, fiddling with Glenn’s watch, I tried to weigh my options and make a decision. But as much as I wanted to figure it out in silence… Gregory would not shut up.

“People who aren't leaders always think they know better. Hmm? Always pointing the finger at the guy, or, yes, sure, gal who's sitting in the hot seat. Truth is, it's not so easy.”

“I don't know.” I shrugged. “It was pretty easy for me not to sell out the Hilltop to Negan.”

“Go ahead. Judge me, Margaret. What I did was in the best interest of this community.”

“How?”

“My approach didn't employ bullets. Connect the dots.”

Leaning forward, I put the watch on the desk as I turned to him with an accusing glare. “You were scared. You tried to cut a deal to save your own hide.”

“Not just my hide. My motives were pure,” he insisted, and I could tell he actually believed every word coming out of his mouth. “I know, Maggie, we- we've had our differences. But I've sat in that chair. I can help. I'm already in the room.”

“So I can keep an eye on you while I think,” I countered.

“Keep an eye on me? Come on,” he scoffed. “You need someone to tell you it's okay to follow your gut. And guess what? I'm that guy. Our hippie-dippie kung-fu-fightin' friend may try and make you feel bad about it, but at the end of the day, you're the shepherd. And you can't have wolves wandering around amongst the sheep. It's as simple as that.”

Part of me flinched inside as I wondered if he wasn’t all wrong.

DPOV

I stood on the porch of the infirmary, waiting outside. I knew lying to Vic had been wrong, but what I wanted to do next, what I had to do… I couldn’t drag her into it. I couldn’t make her do anymore than she had. I didn’t want to put her in danger. Not just in danger of the Saviours, but in danger of herself.

That talk we’d had in the bedroom after she came back played in my mind several times everyday, and other than what happened between her and Negan, I remember the broken look on her face. I remembered the way she looked at me as she recalled the number of people she’d killed. She saw herself as a monster.

What I was going to do next would just chip away at her more, and I couldn’t and wouldn’t risk hurting her like that.

The door opened as Tara stepped out. “Hey. You just get back?”

“Yeah.” I noted, pushing off the post I’d been leaning against. “I was looking for you.”

“I was looking for you, too. I wanted to tell you that you were right when you didn't kill Dwight. We wouldn't have gotten this far without him. The thing is, I know what you said. But after this, I'm gonna kill him. I want it to be me.”

The deal had been that I was gonna do it. After the way he’d treated me at the Sanctuary, the fact he’d tried to kill me and got others hurt in the process, and that he’d betrayed me that first time we met… I’d been given the right to end him when the time came.

But I could understand why Tara wanted to do it. He’d killed her girlfriend. He’d been aiming for me, but that didn’t matter. She’d lost the girl she loved because of that asshole. Which is why I wasn’t gonna take the opportunity away from her.

“Maybe it could be you and me both,” I offered. “And maybe we don't got to wait so long.”

VPOV

After having a shower, and a nap with Judith, I jogged down the stairs and outside where Aly was sitting on the road, drawing pictures on the asphalt with some chalk we’d found for the kids. Houdini was chasing a butterfly nearby, making my daughter giggle as she looked up from her drawing.

“Whacha doin’?” I asked, leaning on the railing with one hand as I held Judith on my hip with the other.

Looking over her shoulder at me, Aly beamed. “Look! I drew Dini, you, Daddy, and me!” She gestured to the chalk picture in front of her.

My eyes took in the drawing and quickly noticed something else. “What am I holding? Is that Judy?”

“No,” she giggled. “That’s my baby sister.”

I froze. “Your what?”

“My baby sister. I heard you and Daddy talking about wanting to have a baby, and I thought it would be nice to have a little sister. It would be like having a tiny Judith again, only this time I could have more fun with her because we have a forever home.”

Her words were just chipping away at my heart more and more, but there was no way I was going to tell her the truth. I hadn’t even admitted it to Daryl yet. Seeing the hope and happiness in her eyes, I had no other option but to play along.

“What if we had a boy?”

She shrugged. “I don’t mind. As long as he’s nice to me. And he lets me play with him. I’m bigger now, so maybe you’ll let me help you hold the baby?”

“Maybe.” I gave a tight smile and short nod. “Maybe, sweetie.”

Beaming still, she turned back to her drawing.

I watched a moment longer, trying to keep myself from crying as my little sister rested her head on my shoulder.

“Hey Aly?”

“Mm-hmm?” She turned to look at me again.

“Where’s Carl?”

Lifting her shoulders, she shrugged. “I don’t know. He left while you were sleeping. Told me not to leave the house because Michonne and Rosita went for a drive. And he said Daddy and Tara went out, too.”

“What?!”

CPOV

What I was doing was probably stupid, and could definitely get me killed, but with all the killing going on I just had to do something. I wanted to do something nice.

Creeping through the forest, I’d quickly found the tracks I was looking for. It hadn’t taken long considering Vickie had taught me, and Daryl had taught her. After going back to the gas station for the other day, I then followed the trail and soon found the guy Dad had scared off. The one he thought might be a spy.

I watched as he stepped up to a walker which had been lured into a trap before he killed it.

“Hey,” I called out, lifting my hands in the air to show him I was unarmed and held nothing but the clear bag of food and water I wanted to give him. “It was my dad. They- they were warning shots above your head. He wasn't shooting at you,” I tried to assure him, hoping he wouldn’t be scared of me. “I'm Carl.”

His grip on the knife was tight. Eyes darting around as he shifted nervously on the spot, he called back, “Siddiq.”

“Food and water.” I nodded to the bag in my hand.

“Why?”

“I guess you- you were talking about something your mum said about helping people. And my mum told me that you got to do what's right. It's hard to know what that is sometimes, but sometimes it's not.”

There were times over the years when I’d done the wrong thing. I had made a lot of mistakes, terrible ones. I’d chosen pathways that had put myself and others in danger. I’d killed, and hurt, and betrayed, and lied, and cheated. I was in no way a ‘good guy’.

But over the last few months, with everything that had happened, and was still happening, I’d been reminded of times before all of this. Not before walkers, but before I’d become the person I now was.

Mum had tried to keep me honest and good. She had never wanted me to use a gun, or be part of the fight. She’d protected me every chance she got. If she’d still been alive, she wouldn’t agree with everything Dad was doing, and had done. 

Deciding to come out here and find Siddiq, to help him, was about doing the right thing. Even if he was a spy for Negan, that was his choice, and this was mine. The right choice.

I tossed the bag towards him.

He hurried over to grab it and quickly skulled back the water. When he was done, he looked up at me, still stunned but clearly grateful. “Thanks.”

“Glad I found you.” I smiled.

“You were looking for me?”

“Yeah, I- I scavenged the sardines, other stuff,” I explained, and then I paused. The next thing I was going to do wasn’t as black and white as giving him food and water was. What I wanted to do could put others in danger, but something in my gut was telling me to take the risk. To trust him.

“Me and my dad, we're in a community. I'm gonna ask you a few questions. I need you to answer honestly, okay?”

“Okay.”

“How many walkers have you killed? I know it's hard to keep track-”

He cut me off with a surprising answer, “Two hundred and thirty-seven.”

“Really?” I was impressed he knew the exact amount. I had no idea how many I’d killed.

“Give or take a couple.”

“How many people have you killed?”

He paused this time, clearly feeling nervous and guilty. After a moment,

though, he answered, “One.”

If only he knew how many I’d killed… “Why?”

“The dead tried to kill him, but they didn't.”

Nodding, I decided to change the subject and gestured to the walker he’d just killed. “You're making walker traps. Is that how you killed so many?”

“It's-it's only part of it. My mum thought or hoped that killing them would free their souls. You know? Maybe- maybe she was right.”

“Doing that, doesn't that just make things harder for you while you're trying to survive?”

“I- I don't know. I- But you gotta- you gotta honour your parents, right?"

I chuckled lightly, shaking my head. “If I was honouring my dad, we wouldn't be talking right now. And definitely wouldn't bring you back to my community.”

MPOV

I’d made my mind up. I’d come to a decision. While I should, I couldn’t kill all the Saviours. I wouldn’t execute them. But we weren’t letting them go free, either. Some of them might be nice people put into a tough situation, but the rest? I wasn’t going to let them go and let them kill more people. I didn’t want that blood on my hands.

Jesus and a few others led the Saviours towards me, as I stood by the newly built cell. We’d gathered some materials and sectioned off an area with barbed wire and fences to lock the prisoners up. We weren’t going to kill them, but we still had to manage them.

The relief on Jesus’ face was instant.

“Get them in,” I ordered.

Stepping up to the door, Jesus gestured for the Saviours to walk in. “Come on. Two at a time.”

“Starting now, we'll keep the prisoners here,” I called out to everyone, both Hilltop and Sanctuary people alike. “We'll feed them. We won't mistreat them. But we won't stand for anything less than total cooperation.”

I was not surprised when Gregory stepped forward. “Uh.. uh, Margaret, all- all due respect, uh, I'm just straight-shooting here. You can't let people we don't trust run around inside our walls.”

“You're right, Gregory.” I nodded. “In fact, I couldn't stop thinking about what you told me yesterday. You see, I grew up on a farm. I know all about sheep and wolves.”

Just as I’d told them to do, Kal and Eduardo grabbed Gregory by the arms and began ushering him towards the lockup with the others.

“What are you doing?” He struggled against them. “What are you doing?”

“Come on, Gregory.”

“Let go of me. No. Kal, are you serious? Eduardo? Wait! This- This can't-” No matter how hard he struggled, they just kept moving him. “Wait.”

“Calm down.”

“No, don't tell me to calm down. I am not gonna go in there. You can't! Maggie! Look, just- No, wait, stop! Just for a minute!”

“Calm down!”

“No, please, no! No! God! Oh, God. I didn't do anything. I didn't do anything. I-”

With all his struggling, Gregory tripped and knocked his head on one of the cell’s posts. That didn’t stop Kay and Eduardo from then dragging him inside as he sobbed and begged.

As Dianne began to close the door and lock it up, one of the Saviours spotted her gun and made a move for it. I was watching him closely, though, and was quick to slam the back of my own gun into his face before he could even touch hers.

Now on the floor, he shook his head, clearly pissed. “Oh, honey,” he looked up at me, “you're gonna get these people killed. Well, you already got some people killed, didn't you?”

Not wanting to hear another word from him, I just slammed my gun into his face again.

“Hey.” One of the others stepped forward then, only his hands were raised as he tried to show me he meant no harm. “Thank you.”

“Don't make me regret it. Or you will.”

CPOV

I was leading Siddiq back to Alexandria when we both heard the groans of a nearby walker. Taking a detour, we decided to follow it, and ended up finding three eating a deer.

“Okay.” I nodded pulling out my knife. “For your mum.”

As we neared them, the walkers heard us and left the deer alone. One went straight for Siddiq, while the others moved towards me. As I killed one, I spotted more coming, drawing in by the smell of the deer and the noise we’d started to make.

“Just go!” Siddiq called to me. “You don't have to do this!”

But I did. Not only to help him, but because it was still the right thing to do. I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night knowing I left him out here with these walkers. He wouldn’t make it alone.

I was distracted as I’d tried to kill one of the walkers, while the others closed in on us. That’s how one of them ended up wriggling and struggling so much I was pushed to the ground.

Fighting to keep it from biting me, I had to fumble to find my knife again. Before I could, though, another walker started towards us. Throwing the first off, I barely managed to catch the second as it dropped down onto me. 

Still fighting to keep this new walker from biting, with no way to defend myself, I then felt the worst thing imaginable. The first walker… the one I’d thrown off me… it had crawled back and bitten my side.

Pain shot through me, but it was quickly muffled by my shock.

Fumbling for my gun, I quickly shot both walkers, finishing them off. Then I just sat there for a second or two as I realised what had just happened.

I’d been bitten. Not just that, but I’d been bitten in a spot that couldn’t be cut off or removed. There was no going back from this. I… I was going to die.

“You okay?” Siddiq asked as he rose from his knees, having killed the last walker.

I chose, in that moment, to lie. “Yeah.” I nodded as I fixed up my clothes to hide the bite. Thankfully my clothes were also now covered in walker blood.

“You could've left.”

I just shook my head. “I'm responsible for you now. That's how it works.”

“I don't want to make any trouble. Your dad didn't want anything to do with me.”

“He didn't, but sometimes kids have to find their own way to show their parents the way.”

DPOV

Tara and I had left Alexandria and found a truck. The plan was simple… use the truck to smash in the walls and send the walkers into the Sanctuary.

On the way, though, we heard the sound of very loud music, and decided to follow our guts. All that noise, if it got any closer, could draw the walkers away and free the Saviours. Something told me that was why it was playing.

Driving closer to where the music was coming from, I was driving down the road when a smaller truck, with a dozen or so speakers on the back of is, drove passed us. But we were going so fast none of us had the chance to stop- not that I had any plans to- before I crashed right into it.

Jumping out, Tara and I shot at the driver, making sure they were dead. As I turned away, I was surprised to see Rosita and Michonne walking down the road towards us.

“Truck full of speakers, huh? That was a Saviour.” I gestured to the now very dead driver.

Michonne nodded. “Yeah, it was. They were scavenging when you guys attacked the Sanctuary. They saw all the walkers around it. It's a cache. They were gonna try and drive the walkers away. That's why they were out here.”

“Why are you guys out here?” Tara asked them.

“I need to see the Sanctuary,” Michonne answered.

“We both do,” Rosita added before eyeing the two of us. “Why are you out here?”

I looked to the three of them, one by one. “We got a lot more work to do. All of us.”

MPOV

“I keep forgetting he's gone,” Aaron started, eyes cast down as he fought not to cry. “I have this weight. There's moments when I- I think I'll see him, that I'll, uh be able to talk about how I'm feeling with him. And my mind catches up, and I remember that the pain is about knowing that it will never happen.”

I held Gracie in my arms as he and Enid sat across from me.

“I know that feeling,” I told him, recalling how I felt, and still feel, about Glenn.

“Does it get easier?”

“No. But it helps to do something about it.”

The door opened as Jesus walked in. I’d asked him to go out and check on the prisoners, but mostly to check on one in particular.

“How is he?”

“Gregory's fine. He's trying to suck up to the Saviours now.” Of course he is. “I just wanted to say, I think you did the right thing. And I wanted to thank you.”

“Don't.” I rose from my seat and rocked Gracie on my hip as I moved to look out the window. “The Saviours in that pen might be bargaining chips. Maybe we'll have to trade them for some of our own people. They're alive 'cause we might need them. Jesus,” I looked over my shoulder at him again, “if we don't… we can't let them live.”

DPOV

I stopped the truck on a road a few blocks away, but it was still high enough for us to get a good view of the Sanctuary. Pulling out a spyglass, I looked out at the walkers still surrounding the building. Pleased things were where they should be, I reached over to hand Michonne the spyglass.

“Here you go. You wanted to see it.”

She took a look, and took a moment, before handing it over to Rosita. They both let it all sink in, knowing we’d did as we said we would, and that it was working.

When she’d had enough, Rosita looked to me. “So what do you need us for?”

“To end this thing.” I turned the truck back on. “Right now.”

RPOV

After being stripped of my clothes and thrown into a storage container for a few hours, the doors were finally opened again. I stood, looking out, trying to see passed the glaring sun. Standing a few steps away was Jadis, with one of her people sitting beside her.

“It's not too late for you. My offer still stands. You can join us or you can die.”

Instead of responding, she lifted a camera and took a photo of me. “Turn.”

Sighing, I did as she said and turned around. The camera went off again, and once silence followed, I turned once more. Then she nodded to the two people holding the doors of the storage container, who then began to close said doors.

Before the shut, however, the man sitting down gestured for them to pause. I took that opportunity to speak up.

“Why? Why the pictures?”

As the doors began to close, Jadis answered, “Sculpt you, after.”

“After what?”

“After,” was all she said before I was left in darkness again.

Bamby

[bamby0304]

Victoria Grimes VIII: War

Ch.6: Dynamite and Choke-holds

Series Masterlist

Summary: Daryl and Victoria have worked through her mistakes made at the Sanctuary and have decided to keep the truth between themselves. But with the war between their communities and the Saviours brewing, their bond will be tested all over again. Lies, death and the threat of defeat are coming for Vickie… will she be strong enough to come through in one piece?

Warnings: Angst. Violence. Death.

Bamby

MPOV

“We are not letting them in!” Gregory exclaimed as he stood beside me.

Jesus had come back with the others and explained to me why they’d brought the Saviours. Apparently it had been his idea. Apparently he thought this would be a better way to handle the situation than to kill them all. By locking them up and keeping them here.

Part of me could see his logic, but not all of me. I could also see the danger, the hindrance, the resources they were going to cost. There were families behind our walls, he couldn’t possibly expect me to risk their lives to save those of people who’d killed countless people mercilessly.

“No way!” Gregory shook his head, his view on the subject strong and clear. “With what they did? With what they do? They are monsters!”

“Gregory-”

He didn’t even give Jesus a chance to argue his point. “No! This is not a sanctuary for killers. We'll be putting the safety of everyone in jeopardy!”

With a cold and stern glare, I looked to him. “Get out of here.”

“I know what they are. I have stared into the face of th-”

“Gregory!” I snapped at him the way a mother snaps at her children. “Go.”

Sighing at me, he finally did as I asked and walked away.

“He actually came back after all that,” Jesus muttered as soon as he was gone.

“And I actually let him in.”

Stepping forward, with her arms crossed over her chest, Tara shrugged. “No offense, Jesus, but I kind of agree with that prick.”

“There are families here. Children,” I added.

Jesus seemed set in the idea, however. “There's two empty trailers out back. We could lock them up in there with 'round-the-clock guards until this whole thing is over. And go from there.”

“You know what they've done to us. What they've taken from us.”

He nodded at me. “Of course I do. But they surrendered.”

“Jesus…”

“We can't let them go, and we can't kill them.” He shook his head. “We can't.”

VPOV

After we’d dealt with the remaining Saviours that had turned into walkers, and any body that might turn later, everyone began to climb into the cars to leave. A few stayed behind, though, as we all had to go off into different directions and do more for the plan.

Dad walked outside, a baby in his arms.

I stepped forward out of instinct, taking her into my arms as a smile spread over my face. “Hey there, sweetie.”

“She was inside?” Tobin asked as he neared us.

“She was.” Dad nodded. “I have a- I have a stop to make, and Daryl's got his bike. Vickie is going with him.” He looked up at Tobin. “Maybe she can go back with you or Scott?”

“She can go with me.” Aaron stepped forward.

My heart broke at the sight of him. During the fight… he’d lost Eric. I couldn’t imagine the pain he was in.

“I can, uh, t-take her to the Hilltop. She'll be safe there,” he assured us, stepping towards me.

“You sure?” dad asked him, not about her being safe but about him going to Hilltop.

Aaron nodded. “Eric and I were gonna go up- we were gonna go there after and update Maggie. So that's what I'm gonna do.” His eyes remained on her as she wriggled in my arms. “Please. I have to.”

“Of course.” Offering a small smile, I handed her over.

“Her name's Gracie,” Dad added.

He smiled down at her brightly. “Hey, Gracie.”

Daryl stepped up to me, sliding his hand into mine and giving it a squeeze. I looked down at our hands and smiled, while my heart cracked a little more. I knew seeing me with a baby in my arms would have reminded him of our dreams, but that just reminded me of my truths. The chances of me ever having a baby of my own were slim.

Following Dad, we headed over to his car and Daryl’s bike, needing to keep the plan moving. Dad had a few more things to do, while the Daryl and I had to go home and get everything ready for the next part.

“See you back home.” Dad nodded to us as he stepped up to his car.

“Sure you wanna talk to them assholes alone?” Daryl asked, knowing the Scavengers weren’t the easiest to get along with.

“Yeah.” Dad shrugged. “That's how it gets done.”

“All right. You're gone too long, I'm gonna come lookin' for you,” Daryl reminded him before moving to get on his bike.

“Where he goes, I go,” I added. “We’ll cut through them all to find you.”

Dad chuckled. “I know. That’s the plan.”

The sound of gunshots going off and hitting Dad’s car had us all ducking. Daryl held me down behind his bike as Dad ducked behind the car, looking over in the direction for where the shots had come from.

“Hey!” Dad called. “Hey! You're alone. You got to be. There's not enough room for two of you behind that tree. And there's a herd coming. I'm just sayin'. Hey, I tell you what we'll make you a deal. You drop your gun and come on out. You tell us what we need to know. You do that, you can take a car. You go. You live. How about it?”

There was a pause as the person thought about the options before responding, “Why should I trust you?”

“'Cause I'm giving you my word,” Dad told him. “There's not a lot that's worth much these days, but a man's word that's got to mean something, right?”

“O-o-okay.” On shaking legs, the guy steppe out into the open.

He looked younger than me, and realising that, I remembered how young I actually was. Before the world had ended I hadn’t even been able to drink legally. I’d never had sex, and certainly hadn’t killed another person. Hell, I’d barely shot a gun.

There was no way to really track how much time had passed since the end of the world, but I would guess it had been about four years. A lot had happened in that time, and I was still in my mid-twenties. You had to grow up fast in a world like this.

Stepping out from our own hiding spots, we all aimed our guns at the guy as he looked at each of us, his knees practically shaking with fear.

“W-what do you wanna know?”

Dad lowered his gun. “You ever have any M2 Browning .50-caliber guns here?”

“We did.” The Saviours nodded. “For a while.”

“What happened to 'em?” Daryl growled, pissed just at the sight of a Saviour.

“They got sent to another outpost yesterday.”

“Which one?” Dad asked in a calmer manner than my husband.

“It was Gavin's. It's west of here. Can I, uh- Can- can I go?”

Without missing a beat, Daryl shot the guy in the head and then looked to me. “Which team's at Gavin's?”

“Carol’s,” I answered without missing a beat or blinking an eye. “They don’t stand a chance.” As Daryl climbed onto his bike, I turned to Dad, seeing him looking at us with disbelief. “What?”

“I gave that man my word.”

“Don’t matter,” Daryl countered as I climbed on his bike behind him. “After the shit they’ve done. None of ‘em deserve to live.”

NPOV

The sound of a gunshot going off had me dragging Gabriel through the corridors of the Sanctuary a little faster as we neared the gathered crowd.

“I am Negan!” Regina exclaimed. “Anyone else want a bullet? Anyone?”

Slowly down, I whistled as I rounded the corner, watching everyone get to their knees. Beside me, Gabriel followed suit, getting to the ground.

“Ah, Regina,” I chuckled, though I was not amused. “Now, why'd you have to go and do that?” My eyes scanned the gathered crowd. “I am guessing that a lot of you fine folks thought I was dead, chewed up, never to be crapped out again. Well, here's a little refresher on who the hell I am. I wear a leather jacket, I have Lucille, and my nutsack is made of steel. I am not dying until I am damn good and ready. Now, if you'll all excuse me, I am in deep need of a sandwich, a shower, and some of that, uh, wilting lion orchid deep-tissue shit that Frankie learned in San Francisco. Hell, I might do it all at once.”

All eyes remained cast down.

“But after that, we have some serious business to attend to.” I lifted Lucille and pointed her at Simon. “Like talking to my right-hand man. You see, we got to figure out how all this could've happened like it happened. And then? Well, and then we're gonna get back doing what we have always done. We will save people.

“Thank you, Negan,” one of the female workers called out. “Thank God for you.”

Grinning, I looked down at Gabriel as he looked up in bewilderment. “And that is why I am here.” Turning to two Saviours, I gestured to the priest. “Gentlemen, gently take him to number 2. Gently.”

VPOV

We’d been approaching where Carol’s team had been designated when suddenly a Jeep had pulled out of the lot and sped down the road. One of the men inside the vehicle looked back at Daryl and I as we rode in front of Dad, and with that one look we knew.

They had the guns, and they were taking them straight to the Sanctuary.

Reaching for my gun, I got ready as we neared the Jeep.

Unfortunately, before I could shoot, the back of the Jeep opened, revealing one of the Saviours as they then began to shoot at us with the M2 Brownings. Losing control of the bike, Daryl slid off the road and into some tall grass. I rolled further than him, hitting a large rock as I did. If it wasn’t for the leather jacket he made me wear every time I got on the bike with him, the fall would have done some serious damage.

Dad kept going, knowing that Daryl and I would be fine, but he had to get those guns before they got to the Sanctuary.

“You all right?” Daryl hurried over to me.

Clutching my arm, I hissed and nodded. “Fine.” Taking his offered hand, I let him get me to my feet. “Come on. We need to help Dad.”

Hurrying over to Daryl’s bike, I helped him stand it back up before the two of us climbed on again and continued down the road.

Going as fast as he could, Daryl didn’t waste any time in catching up with Dad. As soon as we were behind him, he swerved out of the way as I grabbed my gun and started shooting. The guy in the back, shooting at Dad, didn’t have a chance to get out of the way before I shot him straight in the chest, killing him.

It was all now about Dad getting beside the Jeep and swerving the driver off the road.

Holding onto Daryl tightly, I watched as Dad fought with the driver for a moment before managing to sneak in beside him. Then he surprised us all as he jumped into the Jeep.

My grip on Daryl only tightened as I watched them struggle in the Jeep until Dad somehow managed to get the upper hand and swerve towards an approaching slope. Right before the Jeep went down, the Saviours was pushed out of the car before Dad went down the steep slope and crashed into a tree.

Daryl stopped by the edge of the road before we both jumped off and ran to check on Dad.

Climbing up the slope, Dad looked up at us. “Hey.”

I let out a relieved sigh. “You scared the crap out of me,” I scolded as I offered Dad my hand and helped him back up.

“Sorry,” he grunted, trying to catch his breath. “We got the guns.”

“You look like shit,” Daryl noted.

“Really?” I rolled my eyes at him, earning a shrug.

It was hard to remember that my husband was also best friends with my Dad. They weren’t friends because he was my husband, but because they’d been through so much together. It made for a weird dynamic sometimes.

“Let's go see if this asshole's alive.” Dad gestured over his shoulder where the Saviours was still on the road. Walking over there, Dad took the lead as he pulled out his gun and aimed it at the guy. “Your people back in the chemical plant, did you win?”

The Saviour was barely holding on. Just looking at him I could see whatever Dad had done in the Jeep had done some damage. He wasn’t gonna make it far, even though he was trying to crawl away.

Rolling onto his back, the Saviour looked up at the three of us. “No one did,” he answered, coughing up blood.

“The hell's that supposed to mean?” When the guy didn’t answer, Daryl put his gun in the guy’s face. “The hell's that supposed to mean?”

“Everyone's dead.”

“Bullshit.”

I could understand Daryl’s denial and disbelief. Carol was another one of his best friends. She was family. She’d been with us since Atlanta. One of the remaining Atalanta five. Carol, Dad, Daryl, Carl, and myself. If she was dead, it would crush us all.

Not only that, but there were a lot of people in her group. A lot of good people. A lot of Kingdom people. To think we’d pulled them into this war only to get them killed made me sick to my stomach.

“There's no one else? You're the only one?” Dad asked.

“Me. The King. The Axe Man. And a short-haired psycho lady.”

Oh thank god. Even though there were still a lot of people we’d lost, I was grateful Ezekiel, Jerry and Carol had made it out. I was glad we hadn’t lost everyone.

“You did this.” The Saviour looked up at us accusingly. “My people. Your people. They're all gone.” He looked down at the bloody wound on his side where Dad had stabbed him in the car. “Damn. And now me, too.”

Turning away from him, Daryl and I left him to die on the side of the road as we began to climb down to the Jeep to fetch the guns.

Daryl helped me climb down the slope, moving slowly and carefully so I wouldn’t slip. As he got to the bottom he grabbed my waist and lifted me, before setting me down beside him. I smiled up at him quickly before we continued for the car, while Dad started his descent.

Reaching for the back of the Jeep, Daryl tried and failed to pull one of the crates out. “Give me a hand with this.”

Stepping forward, I worked with him to get it out as Dad caught up. Daryl and I set the box down and opened it, finding dynamite inside.

He reached back into the Jeep and grabbed a bag, emptying the contents onto the ground before stuffing it with the dynamite. “We can use these now.”

Dad watched him with a frown. “What?”

“Well, think about it.” Daryl shrugged. “There ain't no Kingdom no more.”

“Yeah…” Dad still didn’t get it, and to be honest neither did I.

“We know what we got to do. We blow open the Sanctuary, let the walkers flood in. They'll surrender. It'll be done. Hell, we could end this by sundown.”

I looked from Daryl to Dad, seeing the conflict in their eyes. “You know what… I’m just gonna let you two figure this out while I get the rest of the stuff out of the Jeep.” Turning my back to them, I reached back into the vehicle.

“They have workers in there, right? Families, too,” Dad noted. “Are there?”

Pausing a moment, Daryl weighed the options. “We'll hit the south side of the main building. The workers live in the north side. They'll be up the stairs before the walkers even get in.”

“What if they don't?” Dad really wasn’t into the plan. He didn’t want to hurt people who didn’t deserve it. Hell, he didn’t even want to kill every Saviour. “There are people in there who aren't fighters. Doing this could change that. Make them pick up guns and stand by the Saviours. And if the Saviours don't surrender, maybe everyone fights us. And we don't have the Kingdom anymore.” I glanced over my shoulder and watched him shake his head. “We're not doing this.”

I understood where he was coming from. While I was prepared to kill those who had wronged our communities, who had killed mercilessly because of Negan, who followed him blindly… I wasn’t prepared to kill those who had done nothing wrong.

Just like how I knew Negan would never kill people like that in our communities. Children, elderly, the weak. If Negan won and he got into Alexandria, I at least knew no harm would come to my sister and daughter.

Daryl, however, seemed to be determined to see this new plan through. “No. You ain't doing this.” He shoved Dad’s shoulder and started to walk away, the bag of dynamite in hand.

Not giving up so easily, Dad hurried after him, grabbed his shoulder, and pulled him back. “There's a plan, and everyone's sticking to it.”

“Not everyone. There's a lot of our people that are dead, Rick. Things change, man.” Daryl went to walk off again, only to stop himself this time. “Negan and that other group, this is on them. If people die, it's their fault, not ours.”

“Daryl, we can't do this.”

“And we got our own people to look after.” Daryl looked over Dad’s shoulder at me. “I got my own people to look after.”

He would do a lot for our communities. He would do anything for our family.

As Daryl tried walking away again, Dad just kept following him. “We're not doing this. Hey! I'm not letting you do this.”

When Daryl didn’t stop Dad reached for him once again, but this time Daryl spun around and clocked him in the jaw. Dad dropped to the ground.

“Daryl!” I cried out.

“This ain't your choice,” Daryl grunted at Dad before grabbing the bag again and trying to leave once more.

Jumping to his feet, Dad pounced on him.

I watched as they fought, punching each other until Daryl got Dad on the ground. Straddling him, Daryl punched Dad again, but he wasn’t one to give up. The struggled and fought, rolling over until Dad had the upper hand.

Getting to his feet, Dad grabbed the bag the threw it back to the car, by my feet. Daryl just jumped him, getting Dad into a choke hold.

“Stop it!” I screamed, storming towards them. “Both of you! Stop it right now! Daryl!”

Dad’s eyes went wide as he looked over at me. Tapping Daryl’s arm, he got my husband’s attention and had him look over as well. He let Dad go right away before hurrying over to me and grabbing my arm. I barely had a chance to look behind us as he dragged me away before the Jeep exploded, sending the three of us flying.

Rolling onto my back, I leaned on my elbows and watched as the flames grew and the dynamite blew up.

Well… there goes Daryl’s plan.

NPOV

After cleaning up and relaxing a bit, I returned to the meeting that had been cut short earlier. This time, though, we were more focused on figuring out how Rick and his piss patrol knew how to hit us, where one of the workers got a gun from, and how the hell we were gonna get the fuck out of the mess we were in.

Stepping forward, Arat dumped a bag onto the table. “Good news is, I figured out where that asshole's gun came from.”

“And the bad news?”

“They're ours,” Gary started. “Stolen from the armoury. A worker couldn't have gotten this many guns without us knowing about it.”

“They couldn't have got one,” Laura noted.

Simon shook his head as he sat at the other end of the table. “No, one of our own did this. Is doing this, right now.”

“Tell me how we find him, Simon.”

He shrugged. “We find when the munitions went missing. Through that, we get an idea of the how, which hopefully leads us right to who. But we start with when.”

Sounded like a decent plan to me.

DPOV

I stopped my bike by Rick as he climbed out of his car- which he’d jumped out of earlier. Vic got off first and stood there, waiting for her dad to come over to us. I stayed on the bike, though, still a little pissed at him.

“There's a plan. We got to see it through,” Rick noted as he came to stop by Vic, directing the words at me.

“We gotta win,” I countered.

“Yeah, we gotta.”

He didn’t even realise how badly I wanted Negan dead. If he knew, he wouldn’t have fought me on my plan. He would have been right by my side. As much as it would’ve helped me, I still wouldn’t do it to Vic or our family. I would never use what she went through to get what I wanted.

“Choke hold's illegal, asshole.”

I gave Rick a short nod. “Mm-hmm. Yes, it is.”

“You’re both idiots.” Vic rolled her eyes at us and then turned to her dad. “Car isn’t working?”

He shook his head. “Looks like I'm walking.”

“Yep.”

“Stop being a dick, Daryl,” Vic warned as she stepped up to give Rick a hug. “Be safe.”

“I'll meet you when I'm done with the last play,” he assured us as they parted.

Giving Rick one last small smile, Vic climbed back onto the bike and wrapped her arms around me.

Despite being pissed with the guy, I was still worried for him. “You sure about doing it?”

“Yeah, I am.”

Knowing there was nothing more to do, and that he was determined to do this part on his own, I started the bike and rode off, hoping he could get through to the Scavengers.

NPOV

As we all started leaving the meeting, I called Eugene back before he could get too far, “Yo. Dr. Smartypants.” He froze before slowly turning to me. “Big, big chance here.” I started towards him. “You solve this thing with the bad-smelling convention outside, I will make you very, very happy. But even if you try your best and I know you try your best but you don't figure something out… I assure you, I will kill you quickly so you don't have to see all the awful, horrific things that are gonna go down here when we run out of food and water. What I'm saying is that I got your back either way. You got mine?”

I knew there was a good chance he was the one who betrayed us, but until I had proof, I was gonna trust my threats lit a fire under his ass. I trusted he was gonna get us out of here to save himself, ‘cause that’s the kind of person he is. Someone willing to do whatever it takes to save his own ass.

Bamby

[bamby0304]

Victoria Grimes VIII: War

Ch.9: It's Gonna Happen...

Series Masterlist

Summary: Daryl and Victoria have worked through her mistakes made at the Sanctuary and have decided to keep the truth between themselves. But with the war between their communities and the Saviours brewing, their bond will be tested all over again. Lies, death and the threat of defeat are coming for Vickie… will she be strong enough to come through in one piece?

Warnings: Angst. Violence. Death.

Bamby

VPOV

The sun was golden in the sky, that beautiful colour it got before sun set. It was beautiful and warm.

I was laying down on a blanket in the field across from home, with Judith by my side. She was happily playing with her toys, watching Aly and Houdini run around us. Giggling and happy barking filled my ears, making my heart swell as I enjoyed the peace while I could.

Carl was only a few feet away, finishing off planting a tree he’d decided to plant in the field across from our home.

The day had been nice. It was a different pace that I’d really needed after the hell I’d been through for weeks now.

I couldn’t remember the last time things had been this quiet, this easy. Even when Daryl and I had our moments, when we allowed ourselves to get intimate and just enjoy each other while we could, things were never like this.

It wasn’t going to last, so I was going to enjoy it for as long as I could.

“Daddy!”

Aly’s voice had me sitting up on my elbows as I watched Daryl head towards us. My mood shifted in an instant.

Pulling myself up, I told Aly to wait with Judith while I headed over to my husband, meeting him halfway.

“You left.”

He nodded, chewing his lip. “Yep.”

“You went to the Sanctuary.”

“Yep.”

“Without me.”

“Couldn’t take you with me. Couldn’t risk it.”

“So you can risk yourself but not me?” I shook my head at him. “What happened to ‘Where you go, I go’?” When he didn’t respond right away, I stepped closer. “Daryl… is it ‘cause you don’t trust me.”

That got his attention.

He stopped chewing his lip as he met my gaze and held it. “I trust you, Vic. Aint trust no one like I trust you.”

“Then why did you go? Why… why did you leave me?” I felt my voice break a little as tears began to brim my eyes. “I was alone and I didn’t know if you were gonna come back, and I thought… I thought if you died out there, today, without me, you’d die hating me.”

Suddenly he was pulling me to his chest, holding me to him. I cried, letting out only a bit of the stress and emotions I’d been bottling up for far too long now.

“Never hate you, Vic.” He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Just did what I thought I had to. Had to protect you from that place. From those people.”

He didn’t have to say it, but we both knew there was only one person he wanted to protect me from. Negan.

“Won’t do it again. I promise. Won’t leave you again.”

I nodded against him, letting him hold me close as I cried a little more.

CPOV

I thought it would be safe when night fell. I thought I could sneak into the underground sewer tunnels to check on Siddiq. I thought I would go unnoticed. No one ever noticed when I snuck over the fence, so why should this be any different?

I’d been wrong.

As I slid the cover back onto the manhole I tried to be as quiet as possible. Once it was in place I turned, ready to head back home. Instead I came face to face with Michonne as she headed my way.

“Carl,” she called, a questioning look furrowing her brows. “I've been lookin' for you. We're about ready to head out. What are you doing?” she asked as she looked behind me at the manhole.

There was no point in lying, and if there was anyone I could trust it would be Michonne.

“I'm helping someone,” I admitted. “A traveller.”

“In the sewer?”

Before I could explain or defend my actions, the sound of something banging on the town walls had as both freeze and turn in the direction it was coming from.

The front gates.

Feedback rang through the air, followed by a voice we did not expect. A voice that made our blood run cold.

“You may be wondering why the hell your lookouts didn't sound the alarm,” Negan started. “See, we are polite. I mean, I don't know when they're gonna wake up from that kinda shot, but they should wake up. So let's just cut through the cow shit. You lose. It's over.”

My heart was racing. We were unprepared and outnumbered.

Dad wasn’t here. Hilltop wasn’t here. The Kingdom had fallen apart. There were women and children. Elderly people. People lived here that could not fight and could not run.

We were running out of time, and we were running out of options.

“So you're gonna line up in front of your little houses, and you're gonna work up some apologies, and then the person with the lamest one is gonna get killed.” Negan’s voice rang through the town. I had no doubt everyone was listening. “Then I kill Rick in front of everybody, and we move on. You have three, count 'em, three minutes to open this gate, or we start bombing the shit out of you!”

Michonne’s eyes were wide with fear. “They got out.”

“Come on.” I turned and headed towards the houses as Negan began whistling. “Michonne,” I called after her when she didn’t move. “Come on!”

We didn’t have time to waste.

MPOV

With his eyes on the road in front of us, Jesus drove. We were headed for the Sanctuary like we’d all planned. Cars full of our people followed as we drove through the night. Jesus and I were in the front, with him behind the wheel, while Neil- one of the Hilltop people- and Diane sat behind us.

Sighing, Jesus broke the silence, “Do you think they'll surrender?”

“They will.” I believed it. “Eventually.”

“Not now?”

I turned to give him a pointed look. “Would we give up that quick?”

“No, we wouldn't.”

“Damn straight,” Neil agreed from behind me.

“They don't surrender today, they will soon.” It was only a matter of time. “Just need to run out of food water choices.”

Turning back to the road, I focused on the plan ahead. We had one goal, one mission, one destination in mind. It was a road we’d taken several times before. One we knew like the back of our hands. So when something changed it didn’t go unmissed by me.

“Slow down,” I told Jesus as I shifted in my seat, suddenly tense and alert.

“What is it?” Neil asked.

I nodded to the road up ahead. “Tree in the road wasn't there before.”

“Could've fallen on its own,” Jesus suggested. “Trees do that.”

I knew better. “It's them. Something happened.” Grabbing the walkie talkie, I didn’t miss a beat before sending out orders, “Bertie, turn around.”

But there was no response.

“Bertie!”

I looked behind us for a moment to make sure the cars were still there.

“Maggie.” Diane nodded to the front of our car.

Turning again, I watched as a truck rolled down the road. It curved around the fallen tree and turned so the back was facing us before coming to a stop.

Sitting there, all of us tense as the anticipation built up, I found my mind reeling as a million scenarios played out in my mind. I had no doubt this was the Saviours, that was sure. I just didn’t know how they’d managed to get free.

Behind us we heard car doors opening and closing as other Saviours surrounded our vehicles. Then the back of the truck opened, revealing a few other Saviours… along with a beaten-up Jerry, and a wooden coffin.

One of the truck’s doors opened as Simon stepped out, toothy grin in place. “Hello, hello, hello!” He stretched with a groan. “Ahh. What a damn nice night.” He started to walk forward, thumbs hooked into the loops of his jeans. “You all know the drill. Due to your recent decisions, everything has changed. And yet, nothin' has changed. Everyone needs to hand over their guns. Gary, shoot that beautiful bastard if anyone tries anything. Same goes for everyone in the cars.”

With that order, Saviours reached in and took our weapons, their lights shinning in our faces. The coffin from the truck was dragged over and set on the trunk of car. It was all we could look at if we didn’t want to see the state jerry was in.

Glare set in stone, I watched as Simon headed towards me window. He sighed before bending down and leaning against the car to look inside.

“How'd you get out?” I asked, voice tense and full of venom.

“Three guesses.” He shrugged when I didn’t respond. “Well, let's just say we figured it out.”

“What'd you do to the others-”

He cut me off before I could finish. “Oh, yes! That's exactly where I was going next. Right now, Kingdom is getting its innards splayed out for the world to see. And the Saviours will be taking possession of that property, starting tonight. Same with Alexandria. As long as they don't make it complicated. But Hilltop? The farmers? The breadbasket of our nascent civilization? It's your lucky day. You've been chosen to keep producing. Gregory made a little bit of a fool out of me in front of the big man, so I am hoping that you are the one to make things right.”

He paused, leaning back to listen to something in the distance. It was music, coming from the direction of the Sanctuary.

“You hear that? I need you to shift into active listening,” He told me as a wide grin found it’s way back onto his lips. “Eugene! Who, by the way, I was admittedly sceptical of, but, man, worked out like gangbusters. He helped us get out of the situation with the masses of the cold and impolite. And now my guys are leading the rest of the herd away. So this can go one of two ways.

“One, I can kill this likable gent on his knees over there, drag you out of this car, and put you in this box.” He pulled back to knock on the coffin. “Hmm? In which you will not suffocate to death like your friend. Sasha.” He leaned back into the car and continued on, “And then we take you to Hilltop, gather everyone up, and kill you in front of the whole place. And then drag you back to Sanctuary and put on the spike in front of HQ. And then my people will lead the walker herd to the Hilltop and pull off the same move that your people tried unsuccessfully at our place.

“What a pain in the ass for everyone concerned. Hmm?” He shrugged. “Or two, you turn around, go home, start watering that sorghum, save everyone, and, most importantly, me, a lot of trouble. And, yeah we're gonna have to kill one of your people. But then we're aces.” Stepping back from the car, he turned to the Saviour pressing a gun to Jerry’s head. “Nah, Gary. I got this.”

The shot rang through the car as Neil’s head exploded. Simon had shot him. He’d killed him. Without warning or hesitation.

Snarling, Simon leaned in close. “I just really needed you to know what I was talkin' about. I need you to smell it. Now tell me I don't got to kill this gent with the lustrous mane. Tell me I don't got to go down the line! Tell me, Maggie!” He barely gave me a moment to respond. “Gary!”

A gun cocked as Gary got ready to do the same to Jerry as Simon had done to Neil.

“No!” I cried, stopped Gary in his tracks. “You don't need to do any of it.” Tense, tears brimming my eyes, I swallowed it all as I shifted in my seat. Now was not the time to snap. It was not the time to react. Not now. “I just want to ask you a favour.”

“What is that?”

“I'd like that box. Take Neil home, to bury him in.”

Simon nodded. “Favour granted.”

Pulling away from the car one more time, he headed towards the truck and got in without looking back. The other Saviours followed suit, leaving the rest of us there to turn around and head back home.

VPOV

Carl was taking charge. We were all alert, listening to him as he spouted orders, a plan already firm in his head.

“You need to make it look like we're escaping out back,” he explained as he scavenged for things we might need out of the little amount of supplies we had at Alexandria. “Get to the woods, halfway to the quarry, and cut the lights. Get enough of a lead on them, hit them, and get away on foot. You know where we'll be. Just have to get the guns, get everyone else here, and we'll meet you there.”

The plan was simple enough. A group of us would make it out, just a little ways down the road, not too far from home. Then we’d trap as many Saviours as we could and shoot them down. Meanwhile everyone else would be home, being ushered into the sewers while Carl kept Negan distracted.

There was a problem, though. I had a problem… I didn’t want him doing it on his own.

Carl was my baby brother. I’d been in the hospital the day he’d been born. I was there the day Otis shot him. I was there for him after we lost Mum. He’d been there for me, too. We I was found months after the farm it was Carl that I reconnected with first.

He was my lifeline, my childhood, my… my best friend. Before the world crashed and burned, and after it all went to hell, Carl and I had been there for each other.

Was I really ready to leave him here knowing there would be nothing I could do when the Saviours eventually broke down the walls?

“Two minutes, people!” Negan’s voice rang, pulling me out of my head. “Dig deep. I want these apologies to be memorable. Bonus points for creativity. Work up a poem, sing a song. I love that shit.”

Carl turned to those who were staying to get our people to safety. “Get going. There's gonna people in the infirmary. They're gonna need your help.” They ran off without question.

Tara stepped forward then. “Look, we got guns. We can fight them.”

Rosita shook her head. “We will, but not now. Carl's right.”

Surveying the area, taking in our home, Michonne turned to my brother. “Carl, we can't just let them have this place.”

“We can,” he assured her.

It was just a place. Just one more place we’d called home. But as I’d come to realise just a few weeks ago, it wasn’t really a home.

Home was wherever my people were. Home was wherever Aly rested her head at night. Home was wherever Judith would grow up. Home is wherever Daryl was. This place was just that, a place, and it was replaceable. The people here weren’t.

“Carl’s right.” I looked to the rest of the people gathered around. Tara, Rosita, Michonne, Daryl, Carl. “This place can burn and we’ll be fine. We always end up fine. This isn’t about saving our home, it’s about saving our people.

Carl nodded. “All you need to do is survive tonight.” His gaze landed on Michonne as he stepped towards her. “This is my show. You said it. This is my plan, and you're gonna do it. You're all gonna do it. So let's go!”

I grabbed Carl’s arm before he could run off. The others went to do their jobs, except Daryl. He waited for me.

“I can’t leave you here to do this by yourself.”

He looked down at my hand as I continued to hold him in place, before he looked up to meet my eyes. “You can’t stay here. If this doesn’t work out, if I fall… Dad needs you. Everyone needs you.”

I glared at him, feeling tears sting my nose. “Don’t talk like you know whats gonna happen. Don’t talk like you’re already dead.”

“One minute!” Negan called. “One. Minute.”

Pulling me in for a hug, he gave me a quick but tight squeeze. “I’ll see you when you get back.” Slipping from my grasp, he then ran off.

I watched as he hurried for the gate, towards the enemy.

“Vic.” Daryl’s hand landed on my shoulder. “We gotta go. Come on.”

Swallowing the tears that threatened to spill, I turned and let him lead me towards the others. If Carl was going to be in charge then I was going to make sure his plan went as smoothly as possible. I wasn’t letting us lose anyone tonight.

NPOV

“Okie dokie. Brought this on yourself, Rick,” I called on the megaphone as I paced in front of Alexandria’s gate. “See, was willing to work with you. All you had to do was follow a few very simple rules. Now? Well, now I see that you got to go. Scorched earth, you dick!”

“He's not home.”

My people spun around, aiming their guns up at the lookout, where someone now stood. Someone I did not expect.

“Oh-ho-holy shit! Everybody hold your fire,” I ordered, grinning up at the kid. “It's Carl.” They all did as I said, however the guns remained trained on the kid. “Look at you. Answering the door like a big boy. I am so proud. Daddy's not home, huh? What about big sis Vickie? My girl in there somewhere?” I asked looking to the gate, waiting for it to open.

Ignoring my questions, he did something I did not expect from him. He tried to convince us to hold fire. “There's families in here. Kids. My little sister and niece.”

The smile fell from my lips. “Well, that shit just breaks my heart. There's kids at the Sanctuary,” I countered. “You must've seen 'em. Even had a little baby at one of the outposts. I wonder what happened to her.”

Gracie. She was one of the worker’s kids and now she was gone. There was no body, so she wasn’t dead. At least I hoped not. I wondered if she was on the other side of the walls. I wondered if that was where Vickie was. She was a killer, but she was a mother, she’d protect all the babies until she had nothing left in her.

“None of this shit's fair, kid. Hell, you know that. You had to kill your own mum. That is screwed up. Ergo, we need someone in charge who's willing to do whatever it takes to make sure that shit doesn't happen.” I shrugged. “Oh. Wait. That's me.”

“Bad stuff does happen, but we can figure this out,” he argued. “We can stop this.”

“Oh, now you want to talk?” I dropped the megaphone, choosing to yell out at him instead. “See, your dad had it that I died. He gave my people a choice. Not me. Now we're gonna need a new understanding. Apologies, punish-”

He cut me off, “Kill me.”

My blood ran cold. “What did you say?”

“If you have to kill someone, if there has to be punishment, then kill me. I'm serious.”

“You wanna die?”

He shook his head. “No, I don't. But I will. It's gonna happen. And i-if me dying could stop this, if it can make things different… for us, for you, for all those other kids, it'd be worth it.” I could see he was. I could hear it in his words, in his tone. There wasn’t an ounce of a lie in him. “I mean, was this the plan? Was it supposed to be this way? Is this who you wanted to be?”

I couldn’t do it. Not because of the deal I’d made with Vickie. No, that shit had folded the second this war started. No, I just couldn’t kill the kid because I couldn’t. I liked him. I wasn’t lying when I said I’d want my son to be exactly like him if I’d had one.

He was a better man than his father, that’s for sure.

“They got a convoy out. We’re on ‘em.”

My eyes were drawn down to a Saviour behind me and their walkie talkie. The others we’d brought had been outside the other gate of the community to hold the people inside. By the sounds of things, that had gone according to plan.

As I looked back up, the kid was gone.

“Son of a bitch, Carl! Was that just a play?! I thought we were havin' a moment, you little asshole!” I turned to my people. “Bombs away!”

VPOV

I was crouched in the bushes with Daryl, Michonne, Rosita and Tara. We were waiting, knowing it was only a matter of time before the Saviours who had followed us found us. At the same time, though, I knew it was only a matter of time before shit hit the fan back at home. The longer we were out here the more at risk are people were.

My daughter.

My sister.

My brother.

My people.

“They didn't get out because of what we did with the truck.” Tara’s voice had us all turn to her.

“Even if they did, it was just a mistake,” Rosita assured her. “And I made one, too. If I hadn't gone to the Sanctuary to kill Negan, maybe Sasha would still be alive. Maybe she would've gone herself. Maybe everything would've ended up going exactly the same way. I didn't want you guys to do it, but maybe you needed to. Maybe you needed to play things out to figure shit out.”

I was not blaming anyone. I had a feeling things would have gone to hell even if the other’s hadn’t gone back to the Sanctuary despite the plan. Negan always had a way of getting his way. I’d seen it time and time again.

“Where the hell are they?” Michonne was growing impatient. We all were.

The sound of vehicles approaching had as all duck down a little more as Daryl watched, waiting for our moment. Rosita snuck up to the edge of the road, throwing a smoke bomb out in the middle of it. The cars didn’t stop, though, not until they were covered by the fog.

“Now!” Daryl called.

We all aimed and fired, shooting down the unprepared Saviours as they tried to scurry to safety. Shooting down one each, Daryl and Michonne took two more down before we turned to the last couple.

Laura and Dwight.

“That's why you didn't want to block the gate with the trucks. That's why you drove right up to this! It was you! All of it!” Laura yelled, taking a shot at Dwight. “You tell them to stop!”

Aiming my gun, I caught sight of her and pressed my finger to the trigger. She was quick though, ducking out of the way as if sensing danger. She ran off into the bushes, leaving Dwight on the road. Whether he was alive or not we weren’t sure.

“It’s over!” Dwight called.

Pulling myself out of the dirt, I took the lead. The second I saw him I knew he was fine. “You’ll live.”

“Maybe not,” Daryl grunted as he stormed up to Dwight and pressed his gun to his head.

Dwight’s hands were up in surrender right away. “I made sure you guys could get out the back. I drove the convoy right up to the roadblock. I knew what it was. I can't go back. One of 'em got away. She's gonna tell them.”

Daryl didn’t let up, though. “How'd they get out? Was it what I did?”

“Eugene.”

I knew it. I knew they would have figured out something, and of course it was because of the one who had betrayed us. Eugene had been a sight for sore eyes when I’d been at the Sanctuary, but now he was just a thorn in my ass.

“I can still help you,” Dwight offered frantically, knowing his life was at risk.

I could have saved him with one word. He had helped me while I’d been away from my family. He’d helped me escape. I could have spared his life like he’d done mine. I didn’t make a move to, though. This was Daryl’s fight.

“I know how they work, how Negan thinks.” Dwight was scrambling now. “I want you to win. I want Negan to die. And we can settle up after.”

Reaching forward, I rested a hand on Daryl’s shoulder. “He’s right. We’ll settle this later. Right now I need to make sure our family is safe.”

Michonne nodded as she started grabbing guns from the bodies of the people we’d shot down. “We need to get back.”

Bamby

[bamby0304]

Victoria Grimes VIII: War

Ch.5: Demons from the Past

Series Masterlist

Summary: Daryl and Victoria have worked through her mistakes made at the Sanctuary and have decided to keep the truth between themselves. But with the war between their communities and the Saviours brewing, their bond will be tested all over again. Lies, death and the threat of defeat are coming for Vickie… will she be strong enough to come through in one piece?

Warnings: Angst. Violence. Death.

Bamby

VPOV

Daryl kicked the door open and charged in, crossbow raised and ready. When no one jumped out or came running, we moved forward, slowly making our way through the room. It was some kind of office, with cubicle like areas with desks and lights set up for people to work.

Moving further into the room, we headed for the only other door in the area. Daryl took point while I walked behind him, my back to his and my gun raised just in case anyone found the two of us.

Reaching for the door, he tested the handle and found it unlocked, before throwing it open. Then he stopped.

"Daryl?" Looking over my shoulder, I saw him tense. "Daryl?" Lowering my gun, I turned to him, reaching out to place my hand on his arm.

He took a small step to the side and let me see what he'd found.

It was a closet. A dark, small, lonely closet. Inside was a plate and a dog-food sandwich on the ground, and blood. The smell and look of it reminded me of the storage room Negan had kept Sasha in, which had no doubt been the same one Daryl had been kept in.

My throat tightened as I pictured what it must have been like for him. How he must have felt. How he must feel now that he knew the woman he loved had not only betrayed him, but it was with the same man that had treated him less than an animal.

"I'm so sorry." My voice shook.

Looking down at me, he frowned, confused. "Vic-"

"I hate myself. I hate that I spoke up against Negan the night he killed Glenn and Abraham. I hate that I let them take you. I hate that I didn't fight harder to save you. I hate that I gave in so easily. I hate myself so much because you deserve better."

Turning to me, he grabbed my arm with his free hand and backed me up, away from the closest. Even when I couldn't see inside anymore, I continued to stare, shocked and broken beyond belief.

"Don't," he grunted, guiding me back until I collided with one of the desks. "Don't talk like that."

"It's true."

"No, it ain't." Grabbing my chin, he lifted my head until I met his gaze. "You had no choice."

"Daryl-"

Not wanting to hear me anymore, he cut me off as he pressed his lips against mine in a rough kiss. At first, I struggled, not wanting to give into him when we needed to talk about us, about what I'd done. But I couldn't fight for long, and soon melted into the kiss.

Dropping his crossbow onto the table, he grabbed my hips and lifted me onto the table with a grunt, never parting our lips. Reaching for his shirt, I fisted the material and pulled him closer as my legs wrapped around his waist, locking him in place. His fingers dug into the flesh of my thighs, pulling me against him until I couldn't possibly get any closer.

His tongue licked against my lips and I groaned, letting him snake it into my mouth and slide against my own. Bringing a hand up to the back of my head, he carded his fingers through my hair and held me with a death-like grip as he devoured me with his mouth.

When we both needed to breathe, he reluctantly pulled back. With a heaving chest, he stared down at me. "Don't wanna hear you talk like that."

All I could do was nod.

"Come on." Stepping away from me, he grabbed his crossbow and my hand. "We gotta keep looking."

RPOV

I'd come to the last room I had to search, and there were still no guns. Walking further into the last room- someone's small home- I noticed something on the dresser. A photo. Reaching for it, I snatched it up and couldn't believe what I was seeing.

"Damn it."

"Keep your hands down." I froze as someone stepped up behind me, a gun aimed at my head. "Turn around slow."

Doing as they said, I found myself looking into the eyes of the person in the photo. Of a person I'd known a long time ago.

"Hi, Rick."

"Your name is Morales. You were in Atlanta."

"That was a long time ago." He kept the gun aimed at my face. "It's over, Rick. I called the Saviours back. And they're coming." He cocked his gun. "Guns down now."

Crouching down, I placed both my guns on the ground between us.

As I stood again, he scoffed, "So, you're the Rick from Alexandria. This whole time, it was you."

"You called your men in for nothing. The fight's out there. It's just me in here." There was no way I was letting him get out of this room. I couldn't let him find Daryl and Vickie.

They could hold their own, but I didn't want to risk it. Seeing that baby, it just reminded me that while Vickie could protect herself, I didn't like that she had to. Back in Atlanta she hadn't been able to do much. She'd barely shot a gun before. Now she'd killed more people than most of us. She was covered in scars. She'd been through too much.

There was more, though. Vickie and Daryl… they had a child of their own. Aly needed her parents to get back home. They needed to get back to their family.

"Did you hear what I just said? I know who you are. I saw it in the mirror through the open door. And it wasn't any kind of blast from the past. As soon as I saw you I knew you'd made the same trip as me. From there to here. Shit, well… well, I guess we aren't the same guys we used to be, huh? 'Cause you're a monster."

He wasn't wrong. I wasn't the man he'd known back then, and he clearly wasn't the same either.

"I called them back because you're a prize, Rick. We've been told we don't kill you, the Widow, the King, or the Princess. Not if we don't have to. Except the Princess. No one puts a hand on her."

It wasn't hard for me to figure out who he was talking about. Vickie. The fact she was completely off bounds… I was starting to think more went down at the Sanctuary than she had shared.

"So why are you here, Rick? I know you, just like before. You're always the guy willing to rush in. But why? What is it you're looking for?" he asked, but I just stood there, staring him down, refusing to answer. "Nothing to say, huh? It doesn't matter. Not anymore. Not for you or anyone else you brought in here. 'Cause what's left of my people… they're coming. And we'll get you to Negan. Or we won't. Either way, we're gonna settle your shit, Peaches."

"Is your family here?"

He barely flinched. "We never made it to Birmingham." There was a pause before he corrected himself, "They didn't."

"Well, I'm sorry."

"Really, Rick?"

"I am." I nodded, speaking truthfully. "I lost people, too. Lori. Shane. Andrea. Glenn. Negan killed him. Forced him to his knees. Bashed his head in right in front of me. In front of his pregnant wife," I spat the last part.

That had him pause and lower his gun. "He had a wife?"

"Not before. He met her."

"In this?"

"Yeah. In this. She's the Widow." I watched him carefully to see if I could get a reaction out of him. "Are you Negan, too?"

"I lost my family. I lost my mind. I was in some tow trailer, sleeping myself to death. Waiting to become nothing. And the Saviours… they found me. They thought I was worth a damn. Worth bringing back with 'em. So, yeah." He raised his gun again. "Yeah, I'm Negan. To make it this far, this long, I had to be. I had to be something. Just like you."

"We're not the same."

"How's that?"

"Well, look at you."

"Look at me? Look at us, Rick. Look at us. We're two assholes who'll do whatever we have to just to keep going. And the only difference is I'm the one holding the gun. That doesn't make me any worse than you, Rick. That just makes me luckier. 'Cause let's face it, if it wasn't me, if it was you holding the gun, I'd be brains out on the floor right now."

"You don't know that."

"And you do? Huh?"

"I know I wouldn't want to."

"Come on. Is that the best you can do?"

"I'd- I'd at least try to find another way."

"Yeah? Why? 'Cause we knew each other for a few days back at the start?"

"Look, I know- I-I wouldn't- I wouldn't just-"

"You want to know what I think? I think you can talk all you want. You can say all the words. Lori, Shane, Andrea, Glenn. They're all dead, and somewhere along the way, Officer Friendly died right along with 'em. Just like I did with them. That's what I know, Rick."

Movement behind him caught my eye.

"Wait, no!"

As Morales turned around Daryl shot an arrow into his head.

"You good?"

With wide eyes, I looked from Daryl to the body now on the ground. "That-t-that was-"

"I know who it was. It don't matter. Not one little bit."

Vickie stepped up beside him, glancing at the body with barely a flinch before she looked to me. "We got nothing. What about you?"

"The guns aren't here," I told them, getting to my knees to pick up my own guns.

"What?" Daryl was pissed.

"He called the Saviours back from the courtyard." I nodded to Morales. "We gotta get out before-" The sound of gunshot cut me off. "They're here."

DPOV

Running down the corridor, Rick, Vic and I tried to find the nearest way out before we were found by the Saviours. As we neared the elevator shaft, though, we had to jump back into another hallway as gunfire started.

"Come on! Come on! Let's go!"

"Fuck." Vic pressed herself against the wall and checked her ammo. "They're blocking the way out."

"It's them!" A voice of one of the Saviours called.

"We're gonna have to fight our way through." Stepping forward, Rick took a breath and then leaned out to look down the passageway. "There! Go!" He gestured to a room down the hallway.

Vic and I hurried over to the other side of the hallway and ducked into the small room.

The three of us stood by the edges of the corridor and got ready before we stepped out.

Bit by bit, one by one, we shot at the nearing Saviours. Ducking back for cover here and there, I stayed high while Vic stayed low, and Rick stayed on the other side. We didn't stop pulling the trigger as the Saviours kept on shooting back at us.

"I'm out!"

Reaching for her holster, Vic pulled out her other gun and slid it across the ground to me. We met each other's gaze, nodding at each other before we got back to it.

We both knew what was at stake here. Not only could we die, but that meant that everyone else could be in danger. But to make matters worse, we could get separated. Held hostage until they found a way to get Negan out of the wall of walkers back at the Sanctuary.

If Vic went back there, nothing good would happen. If I got my hands on Negan, he wouldn't make it out alive.

"Hey!" Ricked yelled, catching our attention. As we looked at him he gestured across the walkway.

Vic and I trusted whatever plan he had and nodded. He counted down from three, aimed, and then shot.

White fog filled the hallway from the fire extinguisher he'd shot at. It quickly clouded our view, and the Saviours'.

"Come on!" Rick called.

Moving quickly, Vic and I hurried over to Rick before the three of us moved the last few steps towards the elevator shaft. Ducking behind the wall before the drop-down, we waited and listened as the Saviours hurried after us.

Right as the first one appeared out of the fog, Rick grabbed him and tossed him down the shaft. Vic was quick to do the same with the next one, and then I dealt with the third. As we reached for the last of them charging towards us, though, we were stopped as they were suddenly shot down.

"Teams of four, sweep the offices!"

"Aaron!" Rick called through the fog.

"Rick!"

"We're by the elevator!"

MPOV

"Hey!" Gregory called as he banged his fist on the gates of Hilltop. "Hello! Open the gates! I- I need help! I've been through hell! I know you're in there! I know you can hear me!"

I stood on the other side, my jaw clenched and arms folded over my chest as I contemplated our options. This wasn't just about him and me. There were dozens of people who would be affected by my next move.

Looking up at Kal, I gave him a firm nod. Doing as directed, he began to open the gates, but by only a few inches.

Gregory frowned as the gates didn't budge any further. "What, is the gate broken? I-I've told them to oil that-" He stopped himself, realising the truth. "The gate's not broken."

"What are you doing with Gabriel's car?" I asked. Enid had come rushing over to find me after she'd seen him driving towards the community in a car that was familiar and certainly not his. "Where is he?"

"I don't know who that is. Th-the car was just there," he explained with a shrug.

I didn't believe him, but I had no proof that he was lying. "So what are you doing here?"

"I live here. This is my home. I built this place," he said matter-of-factly. "Uh, you weren't here for that, but some of us didn't just show up."

"Shut your damn mouth!" I snapped, barely holding on to my anger. "You're really gonna stand there and pretend you didn't try to sell us out? Sell this place out to the Saviours?"

"I was working for the side of sanity. I was working for peace," he argued.

I should have let Vickie kill him. She'd wanted to gut him the first time we met him when he'd made lewd comments. She'd wanted to do it before she'd left for the Sanctuary. She'd wanted to do it from the moment she saw his face. I should have let her.

Or I should have done it myself. He built jack-shit. He barely lifted a finger around here. I was around long enough to see that it was Jesus who kept the place running. He jumped through hoops to appease both Negan and Gregory, neither of which did anything to actually better the people of Hilltop. Gregory was a leech that needed to be burnt off.

"You threatened to kick people out."

"I tried to save lives. Now those people are cannon fodder," he countered, always having a response to everything. God he pissed me off.

"Those people are fighting for a better life."

"Look, the 'throwing out the families' line was all Negan. He made me say those horrible things." Again, I didn't believe him. Not entirely. They'd said plenty of messed up things before so I wouldn't have been surprised if he'd come up with that speech on his own. "I went to them in- in- in- you know, in the interest of- of furthering good-faith diplomacy. I tried to save lives. Some people, without opinions coloured by a preoccupation with vengeance, might call that heroic."

I would have laughed if I wasn't so enraged. "You were looking out for yourself. You went there to betray us. To warn Negan that we were gonna fight. That's what you told Kal when you dragged him there. It's why Kal left you there.

"Kal?" he scoffed. "Kal is delusional."

"What the hell?" Kal leaned over the lookout railing above, glaring at Gregory.

Having not realised he was up there, Gregory looked up and quickly tried to explain himself, "Kal! Hey. C'mon, man. Y-you-you know you can be dramatic. That- That thing with the sorghum pancakes, huh?"

"You mean when you ate a little girl's pancakes?"

"I did not eat those pancakes!" Gregory insisted.

Kal just moved back and flipped him off.

Sighing, Gregory turned back to me. "Listen, for what it's worth, I did exactly zero harm to your cause. Negan already knew everything."

"Goodbye, Gregory." Turning on my heels, I began to walk away.

"Wait! No! Please! I- All right, I went there because I was scared, all right?" he called out, stopping me in my tracks despite my better judgement. "I knew you were going to fight, and- and I didn't want to be complicit. Because I didn't think you could win. But I see now what- what you saw all along. That- that- that the Saviours can't be reasoned with. That fighting them is the only way.

"I was wrong. I-I-I made a mistake, and I'm sorry. Please, Maggie," he begged. "We're all just human beings with faults and flaws and- and fears! But i-is this who you are? H-Have you no mercy? Have you no humanity? Have you no charity? Please! Open the gate. Open your heart. Don't leave another human being out here to die!"

I couldn't believe I was doing this…

Turning back around, I looked at Kal. "Let him in."

Enid was clearly shocked. "With everything he did? Why?"

"He's not worth killin'. Not yet, anyway."

Once the gates were open enough, Gregory hurried up to me. "You won't regret this. I've changed. I-I'm a believer now. You'll see."

As I turned to walk away again, this time it was Kal who stopped me. "Uhhh. Maggie?"

Looking up at him, I could see the concerned and confused expression on his face. Frowning, I started towards the gate, resting my hand on my gun as I went to see whatever had caught his attention.

Coming down the road, headed towards us, were our cars and our people… and rows of bound Saviours walking behind them.

Bamby

[bamby0304]

Victoria Grimes VIII: War

Ch.1: Preparations

Series Masterlist

Summary: Daryl and Victoria have worked through her mistakes made at the Sanctuary and have decided to keep the truth between themselves. But with the war between their communities and the Saviours brewing, their bond will be tested all over again. Lies, death and the threat of defeat are coming for Vickie… will she be strong enough to come through in one piece?

Warnings: Fluff. Angst. Smut. Dry humping. Unprotected sex.

Bamby

VPOV

I stood by the window in one of the rooms in Barrington house. Our people, people from Alexandria, had come to the Hilltop to prepare for the war we'd all declared the moment we decided to fight the Saviours. People from the Kingdom had also come to help, the three communities banding together to fight a common enemy.

Standing at the window, I rocked Aly on my hip as she slept. She was getting bigger and bigger every day, almost too heavy for me to pick up. But since I'd come back home, she'd been glued to me, and I couldn't stand the thought of seeing her so lost and broken again.

It had been a few weeks since everything. Since Sasha. Since the Saviours. Since I was reunited with my family. We hadn't had time to stop, I hadn't really had the time to appreciate being back, but I knew my family was happy to have me.

Unfortunately, there was a shadow over my shoulder that no one but myself and Daryl knew about. A shadow that spoiled moments with those I loved.

No one knew about me and Negan. I'd suggested I should tell my dad, to get everything out in the open before it might be spilled somewhere else, by someone else, but Daryl disagreed. He didn't think telling people was the best idea now, considering all the emotions running through the communities. If people found out I'd slept with Negan they could possibly view it as a betrayal which wouldn't lead to anything good.

"Hey." Daryl crept into the room, closing the door behind him.

Smiling, I turned to him, rocking Aly on my hip gently. Houdini perked up at Daryl's entrance, tail wagging as Daryl moved over to scratch at his head as he lay at the foot of the bed. Maggie had offered our little family this room when we'd first arrived knowing we needed time alone after being separated for so long.

"Hey." I stepped over to Daryl, letting him lean forward to press a light kiss on my cheek. "How's it all going?" I asked as I stepped back and watched him start to undress.

Grunting, he took a seat on the bed and started to tug his boots off. "Rick says the cars'll be ready soon. Then you and me will head out. Get the coordinates from Dwight." Reaching up to pull his shirt over his head, he threw the material across the room before looking up at me. "You sure you wanna come?"

"Where you go, I go," I noted, giving him a pointed look. "If you don't want me to go then all you gotta do is send someone else to get the list."

"Don't trust him with no one else."

I shrugged, moving around to the small couch we'd turned into a bed for Aly. "Then we're going," I stated simply as I set her down and pulled the blanket over her.

"Vic," he groaned, standing up, now in nothing but his jeans. "Don't want you going. I don't want you anywhere near that place."

"Daryl," I waited until he stood in front of me before going on, "people are going to get hurt. I'm going to get hurt. You can't protect me forever." Reaching out, I grabbed his hand and slipped it under my shirt so his fingers could run along the many scars on my body. "Time has shown us that no matter how hard we try, things can always go wrong."

Stepping closer, hand splaying over my stomach, he looked down at the few scars that weren't covered by my black tank. "I know you can protect yourself. You know that's not why I don't want you going." His eyes dragged up to meet mine. "What if we get caught?"

"We won't get caught," I assured him.

"They could catch us. Hecould catch us."

"Daryl." I stepped even closer, moving my hands up his chest and to his shoulders. "They're not going to catch us. I have complete faith that you'll keep us safe. And even if we do get caught, he will never touch me again. I won't do that to you. To us." I looked over my shoulder to our sleeping daughter. "To our family."

His hand had moved to rest on my hip, but at the mention of a family, he moved it back to my stomach. "I love you, Vic. Won't let no one touch you again. Not letting you out of my sight again."

"I know." I smiled, reaching up to press a kiss to his lips. "I love you too, Daryl."

Leaning in, he pressed another kiss to my lips before pulling back. "Come on." Stepping away, he grabbed my hand. "Gotta get some sleep."

My lips tugged up into a smile as I let him lead me to the bed. He pulled the sheets back and crawled onto the mattress before tugging me down with him. His arms wrapped around my waist in an instant as he held me close.

We'd been sleeping like this since I'd gotten back. Tangled and knotted together. Daryl was scared to let me go. He was scared to leave me alone for too long. I knew most of it was because he blamed himself for some things, that he was worried leaving me alone would mean I'd get hurt. But there was the other part… the part neither of us would admit out loud.

I'd cheated on Daryl, with our enemy no less, and part of him would forever worry I might do something stupid like that again.

RPOV

Standing in front of Glenn and Abraham's graves, I looked up at the sky with a sigh. Things were coming together. It was all about to start soon.

"Rick!" Aly laughed as she came hurrying around the corner.

My lips pulled up into a smile as I bent down in time to grab and lift her onto my side. "You're getting heavy," I grunted, a little over-exaggerated.

She giggled and leaned her head against my shoulder as we both looked over to watch her parents head our way. Houdini was right beside them, tongue sticking out of his mouth as he got distracted by a dragonfly for a moment.

"Come on, boy," Daryl called, whistling to get the dog's attention.

Right away, Houdini ignored the bug and hurried back over to Vickie's side.

"You still sure you're okay taking her home?" Vickie asked.

I nodded as she and Daryl came to stop in front of me. "I'll keep my eye on her, make sure nothing happens. We're gonna meet your brother halfway."

"You be good," Daryl told Aly and she nodded, her head still on my shoulder. "Rick says you run, what do you do?"

"Run."

Vickie stepped forward and grabbed both sides of Aly's face. "You listen to your pop. You don't ask questions. You be a good girl."

"I know, Mummy." Aly smiled.

"She's gonna be okay," I assured both Daryl and Vickie.

Nodding, Vickie stepped back over to Daryl's side. His arm wrapped around her as she leaned into him, resting her head on him just as Aly leaned against me again.

"We're gonna head out, get the stuff from Dwight. We'll be home late," Daryl noted. "If we aren't…"

"I know," I sighed. "I know."

If they didn't make it back, it meant they were found, caught, captured… maybe even killed. Sending them out there wasn't an easy choice, it wouldn't be an easy job, but I trusted them, and I knew they could take care of themselves. Both Daryl and Vickie had proved that time and time again.

"We'll see you tonight."

DPOV

Vic was leaning against my bike, keeping an eye out as I waited for Dwight to shoot the arrow back. I didn't trust this idea, I didn't trust this guy, but I knew we didn't have much of a choice.

My eyes scanned our surroundings as a feeling of dread washed over me. I hated being so close to this place, I hated that Vic was here. She should be home, safe, sound. I didn't want to think about what might happen if we got caught.

"You're thinking again," she suddenly spoke up.

I looked over my shoulder at her. "Huh?"

Without glancing at me, she shrugged. "You're thinking again. You're wondering what might happen if we get caught. You're wondering what might happen to me. You're wishing I wasn't here."

"You blame me?"

"No." She turned to me then. "No, I get it, and I'm worried too. But we don't have many options here, Daryl."

"You could've stayed back."

"Could've done a lot of things." She looked over my shoulder and gave a short nod. "Here it comes."

I turned just as the arrow got lodged into the crate beside me. Pulling it out of the wood, I glanced over at Dwight one last time before turning my back on him. "Come on. Let's get home."

CPOV

Out of gas, I had to go looking for more. I knew I was late, and I knew Dad wasn't going to be happy about that, but there was nothing I could do.

Meandering through the broken-down cars, left by the old gas station, I moved carefully. I ducked into cars to make sure they were all clear of walkers, or maybe even supplies. I was so focused, I wasn't prepared for someone to speak up.

"Hi."

The gas can in my hand clattered to the ground as I fumbled for my gun and spun around to aim in the direction where the voice had come from.

"I-I'm okay," they called trying to reassure me. "I mean I'm not, but I've been shot at. Someone threw a microwave at me. So I-I'm just gonna say something my mom used to say and hope for the best here…" He took a deep breath. "'Whatever you have of good, spend on the traveller'. My mum said that- that helping the traveller, the person without a home… that's everything."

As he kept going, I began to creep closer to the sound of his voice.

"I'm sure you've seen things, been through things, that you don't trust people. I get it." He sighed, "I get it. I don't, either. I've been through things, too."

Taking my hat off, I ducked down onto the ground and looked underneath a car, quickly spotting his feet behind another vehicle. Getting back I, I stealthily moved towards him.

"My mum… she also said that, 'May my mercy prevail over my wrath'. It's not all my mum. That- that one, that's from the Quran. Probably shouldn't have said that," he scolded himself, like that would matter. "I don't even know you, but I ha- I haven't eaten in a few days. You might not even be real."

I jumped around the car, aiming at him, "Hands up!"

His hands shot up as he ducked a little, almost wetting himself. The guy looked like he hadn't slept in days… he was stick thin and clearly not doing well.

"Listen. I'm gone. Huh? It's cool," his voice shook. "I just- I just wanted some- e-even just some food."

Two guns shots made us both jump.

My eyes looked at my gun, confused and disbelieving. I was sure I hadn't pulled the trigger, and sure enough, I hadn't. As the guy scurried off, Dad appeared, running towards us.

Once the guy was gone, Dad tucked his gun away and turned to me with a pointed look. "We were supposed to meet at the intersection." When I sighed, he shrugged. "I shot over his head. I just wanted him gone."

"He said that he was-"

He cut me off before I could say more. "I heard what he said. Most of it. But he could've been one of them."

"Like a spy?"

"I shot above his head," he repeated. "If he isn't one of them, I hope he makes it."

Shaking my head, I walked off and grabbed my hat and the jerry can I'd dropped earlier. "It's not gonna be enough, Dad."

"Enough what?"

"Hope."

I was heading towards the road when a little voice called out.

"Can we come out now?"

Frowning, I watched the tree line.

"Come on out," Dad called.

Rushing out of the bushes, her fingers gripping Houdini's collar tightly, Aly hurried over towards me. "Hi, Carl!"

I couldn't stop myself from smiling down at her. "Hey, kid. What are you doing out here?" I asked as we started down the road.

"Mum and Dad are busy working, so Pop is taking me home. We were supposed to meet you, but you weren't where you were supposed to be, so we went looking. And then Rick heard the man, so he told me to hide, so I did." She gave a sharp nod.

"Hey." Dad jogged up to fall in step with us. "What does that mean? What you said. What does that mean?"

"You hope the guy makes it. That's not enough. If you give a shit-"

"Carl," he cut me off with a warning tone.

Aly giggled at the two of us.

I sighed. "If you care, you do something. You don't just hope. It takes more than that. That's what I meant. There's gonna be something after the fight's over."

"Not for everyone," he countered with a shrug, reaching down to pick Aly up as she started falling behind. It was hard for the little girl to keep up with our longer strides.

Her head leaned against his shoulder as her fingers fiddled with the frayed part of her jeans. Her eyes dragged over to me to meet mine.

"Okay, yeah, but… what about for you?" I asked, pulling my gaze from hers to look at Dad. "You're gonna live, Dad. Why are we doing this? Why are we fighting them? So it isn't like how they want it, with everyone working for them, everyone living for them?" I shook my head. "We're fighting so it's all of us working together for something more than just killing other people."

"You think we're gonna be out there, picking strawberries with Negan?"

"If that's what it takes." I shrugged. "It's more than just hope. What, are we just gonna kill all of them?" Stopping in my tracks, I turned to him. "Finding some way forward, that's harder. That's something more. Dad, that's how it's got to be."

Aly reached out at the same time I reached forward. Dad watched, a little stunned as I took her from him, setting her on my hip. With a whistle, Houdini trotted along by my side as I walked off, leaving Dad standing there, staring at me, processing my words.

VPOV

It was dark. Most people were in their homes, probably sleeping, or at least winding down for the night. Daryl and I mumbled our 'hellos' to the few who were still awake and still out. Those on guard, those finishing off a few more details before tomorrow.

Hand in hand, Daryl and I walked up the porch of our home. The door was unlocked like it always was. We crept inside, finding Dad and Michonne sitting in the living room, laying on the couch.

"You're back." Michonne smiled as she pulled herself off, Dad.

Shifting, he sat up and nodded at us. "It go okay?"

"Mm-hmm." Daryl tugged me closer. "Goin' to bed." He pulled out the paper from Dwight and placed it on the dining room table. "See you in the morning."

As we turned to leave, Dad called out to us, "Early. We've still got a lot to do."

"We know," I assured him, pulling on Daryl's arm, leading him to the stairs.

Leaving Dad and Michonne behind, we headed up to the second floor, making a detour to Aly's room. We were quiet as we slipped in, checking to make sure she was okay. Sure enough, she was fast asleep, arm wrapped around Houdini as he lay beside her.

The dog's tail wagged as he looked up at us.

"Shh, boy." Daryl gave his head a gentle pat. "Stay."

Houdini did as he was told, settling down and leaning in closer to the little girl.

I smiled, watching her sleep soundlessly. Seeing her like that, so innocent and normal, like the world wasn't falling apart… it pulled on my heart. It made me wish I could give her everything she deserved. Everything I had and more.

"Come on." Daryl wrapped his arm around my shoulder and led me to the door. "Let's go to bed."

…

Walking out of the bathroom, drying my hair with the towel, I looked over at the bed and at Daryl. He was leaning against the headboard, one leg bent and propped up as he looked down at his hand and picked at his fingernails. When I entered the room he looked up, his eyes dragging up and down my body.

I was dressed in one of his shirts and a pair of panties, nothing more, nothing less. Apparently, that did things to him.

"Come 'ere."

Smiling lightly, I set the towel on the dresser and moved over to the bed. He reached out for me as I knelt on the mattress, just out of reach.

Patience growing thin, he lunged forward and wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me to him. I giggled as he turned us so my back was flat on the bed as he settled in between my thighs.

His hand dragged up my thigh and grasped my hip as he pressed himself against me. I could feel him hardening in his boxers, grinding, eager for more.

"Daryl," I moaned, arching to give him access to my neck.

Taking the opportunity, he trailed his mouth down to the junction of my throat where he nibbed and sucked on my pulse point. "Need you, Vic. Want you."

I nodded, already breathless. "Yes. Daryl. Please."

Slipping his hand between us, he pulled my panties to the side and tugged himself free.

There was no foreplay, our desperation too thick to tease. Instead, he just lined himself and thrust into me. I let out a cry, clinging to his shoulders. He groaned, slapping his hips into mine with every thrust. I felt so full with him in me, so stretched, so complete.

Clutching him as he pressed himself against me until our bodies were flush, we bucked against each other, hips moving at a familiar pace. It was slow and needed. A moment of reconnection.

Later we'd been doing this a lot, holding each other in the darkness, driving ourselves forward on the hope of use alone. Talking didn't come easy, but moving, actions, that was our language. We were scared that we were lost, or that we might lose each other again.

Part of me wondered if Daryl clung to me like this because he was worried I might slip away if he didn't. That I might betray him again. Or maybe he held me like this to try and mould us back together. Maybe he held me like this, desperately hoping I was still the same person… still the same girl who loved him.

I knew why I clung to him. To make sure it was real. To make sure hewas real. It terrified me, the thought that one day I might wake up and find the other side of my bed missing. That one day I might wake up and find myself back at the Sanctuary like nothing had happened. Like I hadn't freed myself from that momentary lapse in sanity.

Or maybe we held each other with hope for the future. Our future. I knew he still wanted a baby, and I knew he still wanted to live out his days with me. In moments like this, when the rest of the world faded away as our thrusts fell in beat with our pulses, it sometimes felt like everything was going to be just fine.

Daryl and I clung together, making love for the dozenth time since I'd come back. He held me, and I held him as we drove each other to our endings. When we reached the climax, I cried out in the crook of his neck as he groaned in my ear. Our grip tightened, our breathing rapid and out of control. Then he pressed a kiss to my shoulder and rolled to the side, making sure to pull me along with him.

It took less than a few seconds to fix up our clothes, and then we tangled ourselves up one more time. That's how we fell asleep… in each other's arms.

Bamby

[bamby0304]

Victoria Grimes VIII: War

Ch.3: The Only Way

Series Masterlist

Summary: Daryl and Victoria have worked through her mistakes made at the Sanctuary and have decided to keep the truth between themselves. But with the war between their communities and the Saviours brewing, their bond will be tested all over again. Lies, death and the threat of defeat are coming for Vickie… will she be strong enough to come through in one piece?

Warnings: Angst. Violence. Death.

Bamby

NPOV

“Well, I, uh… I'd just like to start by saying thank you for having me here today,” Gregory started as he sat across from me.

I didn’t believe this asshole for shit. He was a snake. You could see it in his eyes. He would bend over backwards to save his own ass and throw everyone else under the bus. So of course I didn’t trust him… but people are a resource. I could still use him.

That’s what this meeting was all about. It was why I’d gathered Gavin, Simon, Regina, Dwight and Eugene. My top people. If Gregory proved useful, I wasn’t going to waste any time.

“Negan, let me lay this down straight for you. I know how it is negotiating the slippery, steep terrain of managing resources and the population and the big, scary ‘U’,” he went on. “But you might know, it's called the unknown.” He watched the rest of us, waiting for a reaction- which he didn’t get. I just sat there, with my leg on the table as I fiddled with Lucille. “Listen, I-I mean it when I say it, Negan, I don't like killing people any more than you do.”

“I like killing people.” I grinned.

He squirmed in his seat. “Oh, well, I-”

“I say it's about killing the right people,” I noted. “So, you kill the right people at the right time… everything falls into place. Everybody's happy. Well, some people more than others,” I chuckled, shrugging. “But you kill one, and you could be saving hundreds more. And that is what we are all about. We save people.”

“That's- That's why you're called the- the Saviours. Oh,” he mumbled as if just realising.

Pushing out of his seat, Dwight sighed. “Gonna grab a smoke.”

“Now?” I asked, stopping him from walking outside. “You don't want to hear this?”

He shook his head. “Don't need to. Tell me where to go and what to do, I'll make it happen.

I chuckled as I watched him walk out of the room. I knew I could always count on Dwight-y boy.

“Where were we, Gregory?” I turned back to the man in question. “Oh, that's right. You were telling me that you don't like to kill people, and I was saying that I do.” I paused before adding, “Under the right circumstances.”

“Well, this- this situation that we- we find ourselves in, this- this conflict I can stop it before it even gets started,” he explained. “I mean, here it is. I go to my people, and I- I tell them if- if you're joining with this- this misled crusade, you're no longer citizens of the Hilltop. You're out on your asses.”

“You're still their guy? They still listen to you, Gregory? Can you exile people?”

“The Hilltop is my house. I'm still the guy. I've always been the guy,” he assured me, getting a little defensive.

“Huh.” My eyes turned down to Lucille in thought. “If you're still the guy, if indeed, you have always been the guy, then why the hell didn't you know about the widow leading an army of your people straight up my ass in Alexandria?” I gave him a pointed look, watching as he started to sweat. Leaning forward, I held his gaze as I got serious. “You know what I think, Gregory? I think you're playing both sides. I think you are a thin-dicked politician threading the needle with your thin, thin dick. Now, is listening to you the right way to go, or is it the right place and time for something else?”

“No, no. Not trying to do that. No, not- I was- wasn't aware of things until they were already in- in motion. N-No hesitation. Allegiance, right there, the whole thing. I just- I-I didn't know until I-I knew, you know?”

As Gregory continued to fumble over his words, Simon leaned forward to rest his hand on the man’s shoulder, shutting him up. “Gregory, hey. I believe you. Now make Negan believe you, huh?”

Taking a moment, Gregory got his nerves under control before trying again. “The Hilltop is mine. I let a fox into my hen house. She and her people took advantage of my generous nature. I see that now, and I will fix it.”

“If we go in with the right stage picture, a thick and veiny show of force surrounding Gregory when he lays down the law, I think things go back to copacetic,” Simon noted, trusting the snake beside him. “If they don't, we take a flyer on the place and kill everyone there. Unfortunate play, but the other communities will get the message, and we achieve equilibrium. Plan A. Plan B-”

I slammed Lucille on the table. “People are a resource.” Lucille met the table again. “Money on the table.” Rising from my seat, I continued to hit her against the table. “People are the foundation of what we are building here!”

No one could look at me as their eyes stayed cast down. I could feel the fear in the room, and I was pleased with it. We had morals here, and plan, and vision. We might not be as goody-goody as Rick the Prick might want, be we are about saving, not killing mercilessly.

Resting my hands on the table, I stared Simon down. “Who the hell do you think you're talking to? Are you confused about who we are? Are you confused about who is in charge? Are we backsliding, Simon? Please, tell me we're not backsliding.”

“We're not backsliding,” he assured me. “This is a pronounced event and a fragile moment.”

“Hell, yes, it is. We need to win it all. Plan A is taking the Rick, the Widow, and King Ass-face alive and making them dead in a very, very public and instructive way.”

“What about the Princess? The girl? Rick’s daughter?” Regina looked over at me. “She’s one of them. She’s one of their leaders.”

My jaw clenched as my hands curled into fists. “No one touches the girl.”

“But she’s-”

Once more, I slammed Lucille down onto the table.

“I don’t care if she dictates every second of their lives,” I made sure I said each word clearly and concisely. “I don’t care if she holds the key to every community. I don’t care if she knows every secret, every plan, every step, every single tiny fucking detail. No one touches the girl, am I clear?” I looked at each and every one of them.

There were a few mumbled responses and some nodding heads.

I knew it wouldn’t be enough, though. I couldn’t risk them hurting her. Vickie and I had a deal, a past. She might be back in the arms of her husband, but things had changed. Just like I couldn’t stop thinking about her, I knew she couldn’t stop thinking about me.

“If anyone touches her, I’ll chop them up into pieces, slowly, over months, and I will feed them to themselves. I will make them watch me kill everyone they ever smiled at. Are we understood?”

“Yes, Negan.”

“Good.” Pulling back, I put on a smile as I sat back down. “We kill the right people in the wrongest way possible, and we make them all watch.”

The sound of gunshots had as all pause and turn to the windows behind me.

“Should we get our people out there?” Simon asked as I stepped over to look outside, seeing Rick and his piss patrol. “Line 'em up, light 'em up?”

“No. They got some sort of hillbilly armour,” I noted, seeing the shields they’d built onto their vehicles. “We'd just be wasting metal on metal. And the RPG is stashed at the cache, so let's have ourselves a little chat. Simon, bring your new little friend. We may need him to say some words.”

RPOV

With our gathered crowd of people from our three communities, we stood and waited for Negan and his people to step outside. There was no doubt the gunshots had caught their attention… and the attention of the approaching herd.

The door swung open as Negan stepped out, Lucille in hand and a grin on his face. “Well, shit. I'm sorry. I was in a meeting.”

He took in the number of people we had that he could see as we remained ducked behind the shields we’d fashioned and attached to our vehicles. He didn’t look surprised or shaken, but his ego wouldn’t let him feel either of those things.

“I see you got your little mudflaps with you. So I'm not exactly feelin' a reason for us to try throwin' lead at each other. I care about my people. I don't want to just march them into the line of fire because I won't play ‘my dick is bigger than yours’. It is. We both know it.” His grin grew. “But I'm also comfortable enough to accept the fact if it wasn't. I'm certainly not gonna let my people die over that shit like you're about to. So, Rick, what the hell can I do for you?”

Standing in the open, I lifted my hand and began to point at the people who’d stepped out with Negan. “Dwight. Your name's Simon. You're Gavin. And you?” I paused on a woman.

“Regina,” she called.

“Rick, I'd feel remiss if-“

“No,” I cut Eugene off. “I know who you are.” There was nothing he could say that I wanted to hear. He’d picked his side. “Listen, you five. The Saviours inside. All of you have a chance to survive here. To survive this. You all can live if you surrender. Can't guarantee it any time but now. Right now.”

Leaning his free hand on the railing in front of him, Negan watched me with an amused glint in his eyes. “So they surrender and you and your little piss patrol doesn't kill them. That sounds like a good deal!” He tilted his head. “What about me, Rick?”

“I told you. Twice. You know what's going to happen.”

“I do. I do know what's gonna happen.” He nodded. “You don't. You have no idea the shit that's about to go down. Let me ask you something, Rick… do you think you have the numbers for this fight? You don't.” Looking over his shoulder, he called, “Simon?”

Simon ducked back into the room they’d exited from, and pulled out someone only barely unexpected.

Gregory.

“Of course that's where he went,” Jesus mumbled, not surprised at all.

Negan reached Gregory and wrapped his arm around his shoulders as he looked out at the rest of us. “What do you have to say to the Rick and the piss patrol, Gregory?”

With his hands on his hips, Gregory exclaimed, “The Hilltop stands with Negan and the Saviours. Any resident of the Hilltop who takes up arms or who supports this ultimatum against the Sanctuary or any of the Saviours, for that matter, they will no longer be welcome in the colony.”

“And?” Negan pressed.

“Their families will be thrown out and will be left to fend for themselves.”

Giving his shoulder a pat, Negan stepped away from him as he pressed again, “And?”

“Go home now. Or you won't have a home to go back to!”

The Hilltop people shifted where they stood, weighing the options. Maggie and I looked to each of them, knowing the pressure they were now under. This wasn’t just about their lives. It was about the lives of everyone they loved and cared for.

“You do what you need to do,” Maggie told them all, assuring them that it wouldn’t make her think any less of them.

Jesus, however, simply shrugged. “All I have at the Hilltop are a bunch of books and an old lobster bib.”

“You heard the man. Go back to separating wheat and shit or whatever the hell it is you people do.” Negan watched and waited as no one made a move.

Smiling proudly and smugly, Maggie called, “Doesn't look like anyone's goin', does it?”

“Hilltop stands with-“

Having enough of Gregory, Jesus cut him off, “The Hilltop stands with Maggie!”

The look on Simon’s face had Gregory shaking.

Simon gave Gregory’s chest a hard jap with his finger as he backed the man towards some stairs. “I feel like I invested a lot in you, and I am very, very disappointed.” Shoving Gregory’s shoulders, Simon sent him tumbling down the stairs.

In the distance- though not too far away- we heard a loud explosion go off right as Gregory hit the ground.

VPOV

“How close are we?” Carol asked as the five of us stood on a walkway bridge above the road.

We’d set up a few tripwires that were connected to more dynamite before meeting up here. It was all about us waiting again. Waiting for the walkers. Waiting for the Saviours.

“Close,” Daryl grunted, pulling me closer.

From where we stood, we could see the Sanctuary.

I knew he hated that I was so close to it, again. He hated that I was here. But I had to be, we both knew it. To be honest, he would hate wherever I was, whether it was here with him or back home alone. He was never going to stop worrying about me. I was okay with that, as long as it didn’t affect anything else.

“Shit.”

Tara caught my attention as she looked down at the road. Following her gaze, I spotted a walked walk around the corner of some building and head straight towards our tripwire.

Shifting on the spot as if she wasn’t sure if she should do something, and if so she wasn’t sure what she should do, Tara asked, “Could that thing set it off?”

Morgan answered before anyone else could open their mouths, pulling out his cane. “I got it.” With that, he headed down to deal with the walker, while the four of us watched it, him, and our surroundings.

When he reached the walker, he made quick work of it, but then his body language changed.

“What’s wrong?” I called out to him.

Hurrying towards a dumpster, he yelled, “Saviours!”

Daryl pulled me down as the rest of us ducked, hidden by the bridge's railing. I knelt on my knees and watched as three cars approached before the first one tripped our wire.

The explosion shook the place, causing the other cars the crash into each other, wiping them out.

RPOV

The look on Negan’s face was no longer calm and collected. “Sounds like shit is goin' down, Rick.”

“You ‘lieutenants’, you're gonna have to make up your minds,” I warned.

“Maybe we can take a time-out here-”

I cut Gavin off, not wanting to waste the time we didn’t have, “No. This has to happen now. This is the only way.” Leaning on the railing, Negan grinned, watching me. “You're gonna make me count? Okay. Okay.” I nodded. “I'm counting. Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven!”

“Tell me, Rick,” he started, cutting me off. “How’s Victoria?”

At the mention of my daughter again today, I snapped.

Lifting my gun, I gave up on counting and began to shoot.

DPOV

“It's started.” Carol stood beside Vic and me by my bike.

We watched as the herd from before caught up, drawn in by the explosion.

“Yeah. It was always gonna be that way,” I grunted, offering Vic my canteen of water.

Having no reason to stick around, and other places to get to, Tara turned to the rest of us. “Pleasure doing business with you.”

“Beat 'em,” Morgan added before the two of them headed for their car.

“We will,” Carol called.

Vic handed me the drink back and leaned into my side as I brought the canteen to my lips. I held her with my other arm, wrapped around her waist. We’d been a lot closer lately… because we both knew we’d almost lost each other.

“Shit, this is gonna be fun,” I mumbled as I put the bottle away.

Carol frowned, shaking her head. “No, it isn't.”

“It's better than lettin' things be, though, right?” I countered.

“Yeah. It is.” She couldn’t deny that.

Stepping towards Carol, Vic pulled her into a hug. “Stay safe.”

“You too.” Carol squeezed her before letting her go and turning to me. “Both of you.”

I just gave a short nod as I sat on my bike and waited for Vic to climb on behind me.

Carol jogged off to her own car as Vic and I stayed where we were, one of her arms wrapped around me while the hand of her other rested on her knee with a gun in her grasp. We watched the walkers, waiting for them to get closer as I lit a cigarette and put it between my lips.

“Ready?” I asked, looking over my shoulder at her.

Giving me a small smile, she nodded. “Ready.”

Not needing to be told twice, I started the bike and began to follow the road that led to the Sanctuary. As we neared the first box we’d set up earlier, Vic lifted her gun and shot right after we’d passed it. The dynamite inside exploded, drawing the walkers our way.

That was the plan. To shoot all the bombs we’d set up on the road the Sanctuary and lead the walkers straight to them.

RPOV

We’d been shooting for some time now, just keeping the Saviours at bay while the rest of the plan worked on catching up with us. The aim wasn’t to kill but to scare. To keep the Saviours hidden inside.

“Now!” Maggie yelled over all the gunfire.

The sound of Maggie pressing on the horn of her car was the signal for everyone to get in their vehicles and drive off. It was also one more thing to draw in any walkers nearby.

Slowly, our crowd began to move back to their cars, section by section like we’d practised. I waited for my turn to leave, to move on to the next part of the plan… but then I spotted him.

Negan was on the ground, huddled by the steps. I could see him, which meant it wouldn’t be too hard to take a shot and end all of this before it had to go any further.

Gabriel jumped in the RV and started it towards the Sanctuary gates. Once he had it rolling, he climbed out of the window and let it do the rest as it rolled closer. Right as it got to the gates, he nodded to me and I pulled out a small trigger from my pocket and pressed the button on it.

The RV went up in flames, blowing the gates wide open.

I stayed right where I was, shooting at Negan as he tried to hide. I knew I should have been trying to leave, to get out before it was too late, but I couldn’t not when he was so close. Not when I could end it all now…

“Rick!” Gabriel ran over to me. “He's not going anywhere! Rick! We have to go! Rick! He's not going anywhere! We have to leave now! It's not about you, right?” I stopped, his words finally getting to me. “Not about you,” he repeated.

It was true. None of this was about me. It was about our communities and Negan. We’d made a plan and I had to honour it. Not only because everyone deserved that, but because it was our safest bet- especially with a huge herd of about a hundred walkers headed our way.

Lowering my gun, I gave him a firm now, letting him know I was done. He trusted me and rushed off, moving to his own car. Before I could go, though, I grabbed the polaroid camera out of my vehicle and turned back to the Sanctuary before snapping pictures of the damage we’d done. Then I got in my car and drove off, knowing the walkers weren’t too far behind, and the Saviours had nowhere to run.

Bamby

[bamby0304]

Victoria Grimes VIII: War

Ch.2: Bigger World

Series Masterlist

Summary: Daryl and Victoria have worked through her mistakes made at the Sanctuary and have decided to keep the truth between themselves. But with the war between their communities and the Saviours brewing, their bond will be tested all over again. Lies, death and the threat of defeat are coming for Vickie… will she be strong enough to come through in one piece?

Warnings: Fluff. Angst.

Bamby

VPOV

Daryl and I woke, wrapped up in each other. We kissed a few times, not wanting to get up just yet. Eventually, we did though, tugging on clothes as we sat on opposites edges of the bed. Then we walked out, Daryl heading downstairs while I headed for Aly's room.

She was fast asleep, arm draped over Houdini's neck. I didn't want to wake her, she looked so peaceful. It wouldn't last if I woke her… I knew the second I did my heart would break…

Holding myself together, I reached for her arm and gave it a gentle shake. "Aly, come on. Time to get up."

There was a groan and a whine as she rolled onto her back before peaking her eyes open at me. "Mum?"

"Yeah, honey. Up time."

Pulling herself up, which prompted Houdini to jump off the bed and trot out of the room, she rubbed at her eyes. "You're going today."

"I am."

"Dad is going, too."

"He is."

Doing her best not to pout, she looked up at me. "When will you be back?"

Sighing, I sat on the edge of the bed and pulled her into my lap. "You know I can't answer that. You know I don't have an answer."

Unable to help it, she stuck her bottom lip out as she nodded, sad eyes dropping to the ground. "I'm scared."

"I know, honey. I know." Leaning forward, I pressed a kiss to her head. "Your dad is downstairs waiting for us… you should go give him a big hug. Let him know you're gonna be thinking about him."

"Yeah." She nodded again. "Tha's a good idea." Wiggling out of my lap, she planted her feet on the ground and grabbed my hand.

Having no choice- not that I would fight if I could- I let her lead me out of her room and down to the kitchen.

Daryl was sitting at the dining table, three mugs on the table beside him. He was leaning forward, elbow on his thigh as he scratched Houdini's head. When we walked into the room, he sat up and grabbed one of the mugs, sliding it towards us.

"Made you a hot chocolate." His eyes were on Aly.

She ran, hurrying over to throw her arms around him. He caught her effortlessly, pulling her up onto his lap, holding her against his chest.

Walking over, I grabbed one of the other mugs as I watched them with a sad smile. I hated seeing how scared they both were… but things had to be done, and there was no way I wasn't going to be there for it.

"Drink up," I told her. "I'll make you some toast and then we'll go find Michonne."

"Remember what we told you?" Daryl asked.

She nodded, pulling back to look at him. "Michonne is staying home today. I have to stay with her until you come back."

"And," I pressed.

Turning to me, she tried to fight the fear growing in her eyes. "And if something goes wrong, if you don't come back or if the bad man comes here, I stay with Carl, Michonne or Rosita."

Dad didn't want Carl mixed in with the violence, and Michonne and Rosita were still healing from the fight, so they were staying back. I was grateful for that, at least, knowing this place wouldn't be vulnerable. They might not be an army, but they could hold their own.

"Come on." I nodded towards the kitchen, putting my mug down and offering her my hand. "Let's make some breakfast."

Climbing off Daryl's lap, she took my hand. "Can I help you make yours and Dad's?"

"I'd like that."

Smiling down at her as we headed into the kitchen, I prayed things would go as planned. If I lost her… if I lost anyone else I loved… I wasn't sure I'd survive.

CPOV

Dad stepped up to Michonne, leaning in for a kiss. I watched for a brief moment before turning away, giving them some privacy.

As I looked away, my eyes landed on three people and a dog headed our way. Aly's face lit up as soon as she spotted me before she looked up at Vickie and said something. With a nod from my sister, Aly started to run. Smiling at the little girl and at Houdini as he bounded after her, tongue hanging out of his mouth.

"Carl!" She jumped at me.

Quick to react, I caught her with a groan. "You're gettin' a bit heavy, kid."

"You're strong, it's okay." She shrugged as I set her on my hip.

Chuckling, I shifted her into a more comfortable position as Vickie and Daryl stepped up to us.

Dad pulled away from Michonne and turned to them. "You two sure about this?"

Vickie gave a short nod. "We're sure."

He sighed, stepping up to her. "You should be there with us, standing right there with Maggie, Ezekiel and me. You're a leader, Vickie."

"I was. I'm not anymore."

"Getting taken to the Sanctuary, and anything that happened there, doesn't change the truth. You're still important. We still need you," Dad insisted, not noticing the way Daryl's hand slid into Vickie's and gave it a squeeze.

I noticed, though. I'd been noticing a lot, lately. Like the way they held on to each other a little more these days. Like how Daryl had grown terrified of Vickie going anywhere near the Sanctuary. Like how he stepped closer to her whenever Negan's name was uttered. Like how Vickie sometimes looked up at him with guilt and regret. Like how she'd stepped down from more than just leading, but from socialising too.

Whatever had happened at the Sanctuary… they weren't telling anyone, but it was serious.

"Okay. Just… if you change your mind."

"I won't," she assured him. "But thanks."

"We gotta go," Daryl grunted. He looked to Michonne and me then. "You two good with her?" he asked, nodding at Aly as she rested her head on my shoulder.

Michonne smiled reassuringly at him. "We've got her."

Trusting us, Daryl and Vickie said their quick goodbyes before they headed over to his bike. We all watched as they climbed onto it and then rode out of the gates. Aly turned her head towards me ever so slightly then.

"Come here." Dad stepped towards us, smiling at her. Reaching up, he took my hat and set it on her head. "You're sheriff now, okay? Gonna need you to take care of everyone 'til I get back. Think you can do that."

Her tiny nod was her only answer, but Dad still took it.

Offering me and then Michonne one last smile, he then climbed into the waiting pickup. We stood there and watched as it drove off, leading a parade of armoured cars to a fight I wasn't sure was worth it.

"I know you wanted to go with him," I said to Michonne, still watching the cars. "I did, too."

"Everything hurts," she sighed. "But I'll help you defend this place."

I turned to her then, confused. "Help me?"

She nodded. "Oh, yeah. This is your show."

"Okay," I scoffed.

"You'll see."

RPOV

Whistling, I caught the attention of the guy in front of me. He spun, right into my knife as he looked into my eyes with shock. I pressed the blade in deeper, curling my lips, before letting him go. As he landed on the ground by my feet, I wiped his blood off my knife, onto my jeans. He was still alive, but wouldn't be for long.

"What are you up to, Rick?" he gurgled on his blood as I headed over to the small number of supplies he had with him. "You think you're gonna take us on? I saw you beggin'. Crying. You're gonna beg again, Rick. Beg like your girl."

I tensed, turning my head to him, listening as he went on.

"She begged. Beg-begged and s-spread her legs for Negan like… like a whore."

No. It was a lie. He was lying. Trying to piss me off, trying to make me do something stupid. There was a plan, and I had to stick to it. His words were just trying to get me to do the opposite. They were lies.

"Your- your slut daughter's gonna die. And your boy."

Having heard enough, I got to my feet and stormed over to the tied-up walker. It had a cord- which was connected to a power pole- wrapped around its arm. Stretching out as far as it could, it tried to reach for the dying man, groaning and moaning at the same time.

Stepping up to the cord, I pulled out my knife and cut the walker free. The man screamed as it dug into his throat.

Ignoring them both, I pulled out the list Daryl and Vickie had gotten from Dwight and crossed off this area from the list. Then I turned back to the road and waved the others in. With my signal, several cars headed my way, ready to set up our base and prepare for the long day ahead.

VPOV

Daryl and I were meeting Tara, Carol and Morgan on the freeway. On the way, however, it was our job to deal with the few remaining Saviours on the lookout. That's what the list was. The one from Dwight. He'd mapped out every single Saviour who was on guard, alone, between the Sanctuary and our homes. The ones who would get in the way of our plans.

Dad had used one of the walkies we'd gathered and had sent a message to Carol and Morgan so the two of them could deal with the ones around the Kingdom. Then he'd message Tara- who had stayed at the Hilltop last night- so she could clear that area. It was Daryl and me who had to deal with the rest.

By the time we'd dealt with them all, Daryl had killed three and I had killed two. Just two more people to add to my list.

MPOV

"You up to this?" Rick asked.

People from the Hilltop, Kingdom, and Alexandria had all gathered together, ready to fight together. Today was the first day of our big plans. The first day of war.

I turned to him with a shrug, determined to see this all through. "I got the Hilltop to stand against the Saviours. I need to be there. At least for the first part. They say you can wage war through the second trimester." I grinned for a moment and then turned serious again. "I've been fighting since the farm. Can't stop now."

"How about tomorrow?"

"You been thinking about what that looks like?"

"Yes, I have." He nodded. "I don't know if I can wait for it."

"Just one more fight. And I'm gonna be there. At least for the first part," I repeated.

Ezekiel watched the exchange, standing beside Jesus. "I'm told the Hilltop lost their doctor. An obstetrician, no less. We have a doctor in the Kingdom. A woman of talent. Join us," he offered.

"We'll get ours back," Jesus assured him, 'causing the king to laugh.

"Yes, Jesus. Yes, you will." Ezekiel gave him a heavy pat on the shoulder. "As sure as the day defeats the night. And on this day, we begin to reshape this world for your child and the children to come. So let's get started."

The two of them walked off, ready to get everything started now that it appeared the others were all here and waiting. Before I could follow them, however, Rick looked at me with a smile on his face.

"What?"

"Hilltop's lucky to have you." He actually sounded proud.

"You showed me how to be someone worth following."

"Good. After this, I'm following you."

"And what about Vickie?" I asked. Her absence hadn't gone unnoticed. "Is she still going to lead?"

"I'm gonna need your help with that."

"Whatever I can do."

Rick was a strong leader, but Alexandria needed more. In these times there were no certainties. Anything could happen to him. Anything could happen to anyone. Vickie and I had stepped up at around the same time and decided to take on bigger roles within the group. I'd always thought we'd lead together. Whatever had changed her while she'd been kept at the Sanctuary, I wasn't going to let it destroy her progress.

I wasn't going to let Negan destroy anything else.

DPOV

I had my arm around Vic as the two of us stood with Tara and Carol, while Morgan sat on the road, leaning against the freeway barriers. We were all waiting. Tara and Carol had gone out a few days earlier to time the walkers along this path so everything would be right when we needed it.

"Here we go." Tara looked up from her watch. "Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. One." Nothing happened. "Shit."

"Now what?" Vic asked, stepping away from me.

Keeping my eyes on the road, though, I soon spotted what we were waiting for. "There." I pointed out at the approaching herd of walkers.

Tara shrugged. "Okay. Close enough."

"All right, let's go." Nodding to Vic, the two of us jogged over to my bike as the others moved to their car.

After we'd driven a few miles away, an explosion went off at the freeway bridge where we'd planted dynamite under one of the cars. Vic's grip on me tightened as she sat behind me, her cheek pressed against my back. We both knew what that explosion meant. There was no turning around, now. The Saviours would have heard and seen it, and now they were going to go find out what the hell it happened.

If we were going to go through the plan, it was now or never.

RPOV

I stood on the back of one of the trucks we'd brought, with Ezekiel and Maggie beside me. Looking out at the dozens of people we'd managed to bring together, I nodded at them all, feeling a sense of pride fill me. I'd known we would have people willing to fight for us, but I had never imagined these numbers. Seeing them all, I knew our chances were only getting better.

"When I first met him, Jesus said that my world was gonna get a whole lot bigger. Well, we found that world. We found each other. That 'bigger world' is ours by right," I started, looking to each and every person as they watched and listened intently. "That we've come together for it, all of us it's that much more true. It's ours by right. Any person who would live in peace and fairness, who would find common ground it's their right, too. But those who use and take and kill to carve out the world and make it theirs alone… we end them.

"We don't celebrate it. We don't have shame about it, either. There's only one person who has to die and I will kill him myself. I will." I nodded. "I will. But if it's the others... the others who prop him up, stand by his side, even those who just look the other way… so be it. Then we keep making the world bigger. Together."

"Together!" Ezekiel cheered. "Bound forever! To quote The Bard, 'For he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother'. For she today my sister."

As if backing him up, Shiva roared as she lay in the tray of a pickup.

"We've practised," Maggie started. "We've been through it over and over again. We all know the plan doesn't end this morning. That we may have to live in uncertainty for days, maybe more. That we have to keep our faith in each other. If we can hold on to that with everything we have, the future is ours. The world is ours."

"I don't want to wait for it anymore. You don't either." I scanned the crowd, seeing everyone agreeing. "Yeah, I know. So we don't have to wait for it. If we start tomorrow right now with everything we've beaten, everything we've endured, everything we've risen above, everything we've become. If we start tomorrow right now no matter what comes next, we've won. We've already won!"

Bamby

[bamby0304]

Victoria Grimes VIII: War

Ch.4: Confession

Series Masterlist

Summary: Daryl and Victoria have worked through her mistakes made at the Sanctuary and have decided to keep the truth between themselves. But with the war between their communities and the Saviours brewing, their bond will be tested all over again. Lies, death and the threat of defeat are coming for Vickie… will she be strong enough to come through in one piece?

Warnings: Angst. Violence. Death.

Bamby

DPOV

I walked over to Rick as he stood by the tree line, watching the road. We were waiting for Gabriel… he hadn't shown up yet. Rick had left him to get in his car back at the Sanctuary, but he'd never showed up at our planned meet up point.

"We can wait some more," I suggested.

Rick sighed and shook his head. "We can't." He paused a moment before adding, "He stopped to get me."

"How's that?"

"Negan. He was on the ground. I was trying to kill him, and Gabriel stopped to get me." He felt guilty. It was obvious. But just because Gabriel hadn't made it to the meetup, didn't mean he was dead. Giving a short nod, he turned to leave. "We gotta start out."

I could tell there was more that he wanted to say though, so before he could leave I stopped him. "You all right?"

Sighing, he paused and looked to the ground. "Negan mentioned Vickie."

I tensed and clenched my jaw, looking out at the road.

Turning to me, Rick watched closely. "So did a Saviour on the way to the field."

"Yeah? So?" I grunted, not trusting myself to look at him.

"Did something happen to her while she was there? At the Sanctuary?"

There was no way in hell I was telling Rick his daughter slept with Negan. I wouldn't do it to her, and I wouldn't do it to him.

Vic might think she was in the wrong, but I knew what Negan was like. I saw the way he treated the women he calls his wives. The choices he gave the women weren't real choices. Sleep with him, or never see her family again? I didn't blame Vic for wanting to see her family. I understood it, but others wouldn't.

Rick might get it after the shock, but then the next issue would come. How would Rick react if he found out Negan put her in a position like that? How would he react knowing he forced her hand and touched her? Rick would want blood. The plan and everyone else wouldn't matter. Rick would want to wring Negan's neck with his own two hands.

I wanted the guy dead, but I didn't want Rick putting himself in danger to do it.

"She went through a lot there. It changed her. But whatever they're telling you, whatever you're thinking, ignore it."

Watching me carefully, he paused a moment before giving a short nod. "Let's go."

NPOV

Despite the hell Rick and his gang had sent to the Sanctuary- no doubt to kill me- I'd managed to get away with barely a scratch. As the huge herd of walkers approached, I ran to a nearby trailer and ducked inside, hoping to wait out the chaos outside until someone found me. I knew my people would find me.

Standing in the dark corner, I listened to the groans and moans outside. When the door opened, I was shocked, to say the least.

Rick's priest hurried inside, slamming the door shut behind him before pressing his back to it as he took in a deep breath. Watching him, seeing the panic in his eyes, I grinned.

"I hope you got your shitting pants on."

He jumped, having not expected to hear another voice. Turning to look in my direction, he scanned the darkened corner, trying to find me. "What?"

"Your shittin' pants," I repeated as I stepped into the light, still grinning. "I hope you're wearing them right now 'cause you are about to shit your pants."

The look on his face was one of pure fear.

Before he could react, I lunged forward and pushed him to the ground. With him lying there, I snatched the gun right out of his hands. He flinched, startled and still scared. Now with no way of defending himself, he no doubt thought I was going to kill him.

"Well, that's handy," I noted as I pulled out the clip to check it. "This one still has a full clip."

"There wasn't any point in firing it. I didn't have enough."

"Yeah, but you could've gone down fighting, you big baby," I countered. He flinched, offended, but I just chuckled. "I'm just pulling your dick, breakin' your balls a little bit. You done good. Smart play." I nodded. "Let's get you properly on your ass." I offered him my hand.

He took it and let me sit him up. I could feel his eyes on me as I moved to the opposite wall, a few feet away, and took a seat on the ground.

"Your friend Rick is an asshole."

"You're an asshole," he countered.

I grinned. "Yeah. I am. But he's gonna get people killed."

"By you."

"See, I killed the widow's husband and the ginger. But I didn't get them killed," I noted. "That was your boy Rick. Big difference." I watched him carefully, trying to get a read on him. "You know, I saw you stop for that Gregory idiot. You were there. You saw the whole thing. You heard his little speech. Why would you stop for that bearded prick?"

"What I fear is a fruitless death." His gaze fell to his lap.

"Jesus Christ. You got to be kiddin' me. He split on your creepy little ass. The point of your life would be saving that dickhead?"

"That wouldn't be it. There had to be some reason I did what I did." Slowly, he looked up at me. "Maybe this is the reason."

"What?"

"I think I'm here to take your confession."

VPOV

I lifted my gun as Daryl lifted his, and we both shot. The two men standing guard fell to the ground, dead.

We were at one of the many bases Negan had set up. Our communities had parted into groups to hit each place, clean them out, and kill every Saviour. Our job here was to grab all the guns. It's where Dwight had told us they were kept.

Dad took the lead, followed by Daryl and me, and then a few more of our men. The others were outside, by the side courtyard where Dwight had let us know the guns were organised and handled. It was there that our people had surrounded the Saviours, locking them in and shooting them down.

The Saviours didn't know it yet, but we weren't here to kill them outright. The plan was to turn them into walkers let them do the rest. Save our ammo and keep them caged in with the dead.

"You signal if they're already inside. We'll be there," Dad told the others who then nodded and hurried off to take keep an eye out for any Saviours.

"Come on." Daryl nodded up the hallway. "Let's find them guns."

NPOV

I wasn't sure how long Gabriel- he'd introduced himself considering we were stuck in the trailer- had been waiting, but it sounded like the walkers weren't giving up anytime soon. It also sounded like a lot, and according to Gabe that had been the plan. They herded up as many walkers as they could and surrounded the Sanctuary so we couldn't get out.

Solid plan. Unfortunately for him, now he was stuck in the mess. Unfortunately for my people, just because they were safe inside, didn't mean they were completely safe.

"We can wait it out a little bit, see if my people can figure something out," I suggested. "One thing that is sure as ass… if my people think I'm dead a lot of folks are gonna die in there."

"Why?"

"Listen to me. I don't have shit to confess. Except maybe the fact that I rubbed one out right where you're sitting just to calm down a bit." I grinned, watching him look down at where he was sitting before he scooted over a few inches. "Let me ask you something. Why'd you become a priest?"

"I love God, and I love people. I wanted to bring them together," he answered simply. "To help people through their difficult times. To help them through their weaknesses."

"Well, look at that. That's my thing. I like to help people through their weaknesses, too. Been doing it one way or another my whole life."

"How do you help people?"

"You want to know why people are gonna start dying in there? Because I'm not there to stop it."

RPOV

Daryl, Vickie and I had split up. The couple had stayed together, while I'd gone off on my own to search the first floor. It's where Dwight had told us the guns would be. But I hadn't found a single one, yet.

The sound of someone approaching had me lifting my gun, ready to shoot. As they rounded the corner, however, I lowered it as soon as I saw it was Daryl and Vickie.

"Ain't on this floor," Daryl grunted.

I shrugged. "Only option is up."

"High ground. Good cover." Daryl nodded.

"Yeah, I'd put them up there, too."

Vickie stepped over to a nearby doorway and gestured to a sign. "Found the stairs." Reaching for the door, she found they were locked. "I could shoot these down, but…"

Quick to move, Daryl waited for her to step aside before lifting his foot to kick down the door.

VPOV

The stairs eventually came to a block we couldn't get through, which meant we'd had to climb the last of the building through the elevator shaft. Daryl, as always, had been extra cautious, but I found Dad was no different. They both knew I could do it myself, but that didn't mean they weren't going to worry.

Once Dad had the doors open, Dad pulled himself up onto the floor and then reached a hand out for me. I took it, letting him pull me up as Daryl held a hand out to catch me if I were to fall.

Rolling onto the ground, I took a couple of heavy breaths and then rolled back over to help Dad pull Daryl over.

"Last floor. The guns have gotta be up here," Dad noted, trying to catch his breath.

"He said they'd be here." Daryl knew having an inside man at the Sanctuary was good for us, but he hated that it was Dwight.

"Everything else he passed you is checking out," Dad countered.

"That guy's a piece of shit."

Grabbing Daryl's hand, I turned him to me. "If he's lying, you're the one that gets to kill him. Everyone knows that."

Starting down the hallway, Dad shook his head, clearly getting a little concerned. "Those guns get to the Sanctuary, they could cut through those walkers and free up an exit. We'll go faster if we split up. I find the M2s, you find 'em, we use them, hit the courtyard right then and there."

"End this quick." Daryl nodded. "Vic and I will go this way."

There was no arguing, no questioning, no talking about it. We all knew Daryl and I were sticking together. It was the best for everyone. If we split up we'd both only worry about each other which could get us killed, or screw the whole plan up.

NPOV

"You helped the weak before this?"

I looked over at Gabe, finding him staring at me, watching closely and curiously. He was trying to figure me out, and I didn't blame him. If we were gonna be stuck in here together it was the perfect opportunity.

"Kids," I started. "You don't show them the way, well, they turn out like garbage. Little assholes become great big ones, so you show them the way. Adults, they need it, too. The government, laws, religion, guilt. People are weak."

"Everyone?"

"Everyone."

He sat on the answer for a moment before saying, "You're weak. Killing the innocent."

"Right and goddamn wrong. I'm weak, but me 'killing the innocent'? That ain't why, Gabey." Getting to my feet, I moved to the other side of the trailer as a walker managed to break a hole in the wall and reach its arm in. "We'll wait a little bit longer, see if my people can pull it together."

If we didn't get out of here soon, we weren't gonna last. Those walkers weren't gonna stop trying to get in, and once they find a way things'll end fast.

"Why are you weak?"

"That's the wrong question." I leaned my head back against the wall. "It is how I am weak. You see, the thing is, I am also strong. Everyone is a mix. You can use your weaknesses to drive your strength, and obviously, I am strong as shit. I took this place, and it was a damn free-for-all. A loose confederation of assholes. An army made up of gangs of animals, and I brought it all together. The last guy that was in charge, he wasn't in charge of shit. He allowed people to be weak. I don't. I make them strong, which makes this world strong. You're gonna see, Gabey. See, I'm gonna make you my new special project. Gonna make you nice and strong, too. We're gonna find your special purpose. Hell yes, we are."

"I'm strong," he argued. "I've killed. I was at the Satellite Station. I was a part of that."

I remembered my little talk with Victoria about that night. Was shocked to hear she was part of it. Not overly surprised the priest was, too, considering Rick had brought him here today.

"Oh. Then you killed my people while they were sleeping. Well, look at you, swinging your dick." I started towards him. "Sure, Gabe. That's strong. But that's not what I'm talking about."

"Tell me how you're weak." He looked over at the walker still stretching its arm inside. "We might be dead soon. You may be dead. Wouldn't you want to confess before all that happens? Wouldn't you want absolution before that? Forgiveness?" He got to his feet. "Costs you nothing more than saying the truth aloud. You don't think you have anything to confess? People you've killed?"

"I haven't killed anyone that didn't need it."

"The workers you treat like slaves."

"It's an economy," I countered. "Some people win, some people lose, but no one's a slave, no one's going hungry, and you couldn't say that before all this."

"Carl told us about your wives. The women you pressure into marrying you?"

"Every one of those ladies made a choice." I stepped closer to him. "Victoria made a choice."

He flinched at the mention of one of his people. "What did you do to her?"

"Nothing she wasn't begging for." I grinned, knowing I was getting under his skin. "At the end of the day, she chose to give into a small evil for an ounce of freedom. Just like all my other wives. They chose me in order to choose themselves or choose someone else. Family, friends, whatever, whoever. They choose to be with me for something else. It's called a transaction."

"Was there a first? One before all of this? A wife you promised to have and to hold, forsaking all others? One you told that lie to?"

Now he was getting under my skin.

"Lucille, give me strength." Turning away from him, I walked back to the other side of the trailer and took in a shaking breath.

With my back turned to him, I didn't see Gabe approaching, and I was not prepared for him to try to snatch his gun from my belt. He wasn't prepared for my reflexes, though. As he got the gun in his hand, I swung back and elbowed him in the face. He scrambled, hurrying into the next room and closing the door, separating us.

The commotion had encouraged the walkers to make more holes as the first one climbed into the trailer. Moving fast, I brought Lucille down on its head, crushing its skull to bits.

"All right, Gabe!" I called. "No one's coming for us. You took your shot. Shots. It's time to go." I stepped up to the door, forcing myself to calm down. "We have Lucille to help us get to the Sanctuary. We have that gun. We should use it. Most importantly, Gabriel, we have each other. People are a resource. We make it inside, we live."

Sighing, I walked back over to the dead walker and dragged it further into the trailer. "We can take a chance, we can 'gut up', play dead ones across the courtyard." When he didn't respond, I shrugged, stepping to the door again. "Or… or I can just kill you, but that is not what I want. What I want is for you to work with me. That is all I ever want."

"I've killed before, but that's not my greatest sin," he started. "I locked my congregation out of my church when this all just started. I listened to them die as I cowered. I failed them. I failed God. And every day, I work to lessen that failure, to be of service and purpose. Now I offer you the assurance of a pardon, penance, and absolution. I will go with you. I will show you that working together as equals is the only true way to grace, to a future. I will do this if you confess."

At least I could say I'd never done that. I'd never looked for a way to keep my people safe. I never left them out to just die without at least trying.

"Jesus, Gabe. What you did, that is some horrible, cowardly, spineless shit. But I guess that's what a confession's supposed to be, right?"

What I was about to do… not a lot of people alive today knew of my past.

"My first wife was a real wife. My only real wife. Till death did us part." I took in a shaking breath. "It was before this. I lied to her. I screwed around on her. She was sick. And when she went, it was during this. I couldn't put her down. That is how I was weak. That is what I will confess. Because, yeah, maybe we do bite the big one here."

There was a pause, and I honestly thought he wasn't going to keep his part of the deal. But right as I was getting pissed, he opened the door.

"You're forgiven."

Out of reflex, I punched him. "Thanks. You can keep your gun." Turning away from him, I went back to the dead walker. "Sucks, Gabe, but it looks like we got to risk eating it… by eating it."

"I don't understand."

I started bashing more parts of the walker. "You ever done this trick with the guts before?"

"Mm-hmm." He nodded, stepping towards me.

"These are putrid, decaying organs, dead blood, piss, and shit that have been cooking all day in the Virginian sun. None of your people ever gotten sick from this?"

"We're from Georgia."

"Look at you lucky shits." I chuckled.

Getting on our knees, we started covering ourselves with the walker's guts and insides until most of our clothes were coated in the disgusting shit.

Once we were ready, we waited by the exit door while I peeked a look outside the window. "Let's make some noise."

Banging Lucille on the door, we began to scream and yell, making as much noise as possible to catch the attention of as many walkers as possible. Then we opened the door and let them walk right in. None of them paid us any mind because of the stench covering us.

Outside, however, was different.

We'd made it halfway before the walkers figured us out, after that, we had to tooth and nail, and even then there was a good chance we wouldn't make it.

Somehow, we did. Working together, using the gun and Lucille. Somehow, we got out of that mess and back into the Sanctuary. But that wasn't the end of our issues.

RPOV

I was creeping around, keeping my finger by the trigger of my gun as I searched every room I came across. The area I was in now seemed to be residential, as I'd already found one bedroom. Reaching for the second door, I went to open it when I heard someone running.

I didn't get the chance to turn around before they jumped me, clinging to my back and pushing me away from the door. Pushing me to the ground, they tried to get their hands around my neck. Elbowing him in the face, I quickly rolled us over and started punching. He blocked most of them, struggling against me. So far there was no sign of who would come out on top.

Rolling around, the two of us got in some hits as we struggled to get the upper hand.

When I finally got a second, I reached for my other gun on my holster, but as I went to take a shot, he knocked my hand, making me miss him. His fist then quickly met my face, pushing me back to the ground. As he tried to get on top of me I kicked him back.

Climbing to our feet, we threw more hits before I managed to climb onto his back and get him in a chokehold. Running backwards, he slammed me against the wall, knocking the wind out of me, but I held tight.

"The M2s. Where are they?"

"No… guns," he grunted as I put more pressure around his neck.

Pushing us away from the wall, I moved back to the door he'd kept me from going in. "They're in there?"

"No!" he cried out as he ran back again, using whatever strength he could muster to slam me against the wall once more. "No!"

I could feel he didn't have much left in him, but even so, I needed to end things fast.

Looking around, I soon spotted one of the brackets left on the wall from the shelf he'd pushed me into earlier. Getting a stronger hold on him, I pushed us from the wall, turned, and threw him against the bracket.

It skewered him, straight through his chest.

Dropping to my knees, I fought to catch my breath for a moment. My heart was racing painfully, just as everything else hurt. I didn't let it hold me back for too long. When I had better control of my breathing I got back up to my feet and moved to the door he'd clearly wanted me to stay away from. As I opened it, I found the last thing I expected.

A baby was fast asleep in a crib.

On the wall was the name 'Gracie', and a mural of zoo animals. A mobile twirled above where she slept with stuffed animals and handmade blankets.

"Gracie." I felt my heart break as I realised the man outside was her father. She was an orphan now. Alone. It would be so easy for my own children to lose me… "Gracie."

Bamby

[bamby0304]

Just tagging my forevers and The Walking Dead tags, because I've got a new story up :) it's the next part of Victoria Grimes!!

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The Walking Dead Tags

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[bamby0304]

Victoria Grimes- Masterlist

Meet the peeps…

Victoria Grimes-Dixon

Alyssa Grimes-Dixon

Summary: Follow Victoria Grimes and her family of survivors as they struggle to find safety in a world where the dead come back to life with a hunger for flesh. But the dead aren’t the only dangers in the world… humanity has taken a turn, bringing out the worst in people.

Despite these horrors, Vickie is determined to keep herself and her loved ones alive, no matter the cost. As time goes by, she grows into a force to be reckoned with, a fierce and strong leader.

With a certain crossbow wielding redneck by her side, Vickie will go through hell and back in her adventures of survival.

Warnings: Violence, fluff, angst, smut, usual stuff. Canon starting from season 1 onward throughout the instalments.

Victoria Grimes I: Found- complete

Victoria was alone. Her dad was dead and she had been separated from her mum, brother and dad’s best friend for awhile now. She was left to fend for herself, trying to survive.But when she hears the blaring alarm of a car coming down the high way, she’ll ever believe what’s install for her. And she never expect to get close to the red-neck hunter. 

Victoria Grimes II: Guilt- complete

The CDC is gone. Vickie Grimes and the rest of the group are now left with more questions then before, and no safe place to call home. Making their way out of Atlanta and towards Fort Benning, they find more trouble then they had imagined. But how will Vickie handle Shane’s advances, keeping her parents off her back and her growing feelings for Daryl? 

Victoria Grimes III: Animal- complete

Alone, Victoria is left to fend for herself. Now, she’s no longer herself, instead a primal animal who’s only thoughts are of survival. Daryl and the others are on the run, going from house to house. But with Lori’s baby coming soon, they all know a permanent shelter is needed. So when the unexpected happens, how will everyone react? Will things ever be the same again? 

Victoria Grimes IV: Change- complete

Everything seems to have fallen into place. With Houdini and Aly now in the picture, Vickie sees nothing but a safe and happy future within the prison grounds. But of course, nothing ever lasts… So how will she cope when she’s thrown back into danger and chaos? And how will she find her way back to her family, friends, and Daryl? 

Victoria Grimes V: Journey- complete

Terminus. It’s not the sanctuary they’d hoped it would be. Now Vickie and the other’s are stuck, out in the world again with no real hope of going on. Can they trust the new people they meet? Or will they be lead into another trap? Will they rescue Beth? Or will they lose more of their family? And how will the group deal when they’re given the chance to be normal once more? 

Victoria Grimes VI: Chaos- complete

After entering the gates of Alexandria, Victoria was sure her family and friends had found a place where they could finally settle down and become a part of something more. But with problem after problem, danger after danger, they can’t seem to catch a break. But that’s not even the worst of it… Not with the biggest big bad on the way… 

Victoria Grimes VII: Power- complete

Negan. He was the monster everyone had warned them about. He was like nothing Victoria had ever seen before. Worse than Shane, the Governor, the Terminus cannibals, the people at Grady, and the Wolves. Now Negan’s Saviours are here, and they’re about to turn everyone’s lives upside down. Of course, the last thing Vickie expected was to be dragged further into it all than anyone else.

Victoria Grimes VIII: War- in progress

Daryl and Victoria have worked through her mistakes made at the Sanctuary and have decided to keep the truth between themselves. But with the war between their communities and the Saviours brewing, their bond will be tested all over again. Lies, death and the threat of defeat are coming for Vickie… will she be strong enough to come through in one piece?